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A CENTURY 


OF 


SCOTTISH LIFE. 


























A CENTURY 


OF 

SCOTTISH LIFE 

MEMORIALS AND RECOLLECTIONS 

OF 

HISTORICAL AND REMARKABLE PERSONS 

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS OF 

CALEDONIAN HUMOUR . 


BY THE 

REV. CHARLES ROGERS, LL.D., F.S.A. Scot., 

VI 7 7 1 

HISTORIOGRAPHER TO THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



EDINBURGH :4 

WILLIAM P. NIMMO. 

1871. 



UAzib 

■Aifly 


/ 

EDINBURGH : 

PRINTED BY SCHENCK AND M'PARLANE, 


ST JAMES SQUARE. 


PREFACE. 


- + - 

Century of Scottish Life is the most 
appropriate title which I can devise for a work 
which embraces memorials and anecdotes of 
remarkable Scotsmen during the last hundred years. 
Some of the anecdotes refer to a preceding period, but the 
majority are modern, and have not been published before. 
For a portion of the memorials I am indebted to my 
late father, a Scottish country minister, and one of the 
best cofiversationalists of his time. The sketches of 
Highland Bards are founded on materials communi¬ 
cated to me by my late friend, Dr Thomas Buchanan, 
minister of Methven, in Perthshire. This amiable and 
accomplished gentleman died in 1859 ; the greater num¬ 
ber of the poetical translations from the Gaelic minstrelsy 
are from his pen. For the other memorials I am in¬ 
dividually responsible. It has been my privilege, for 
nearly thirty years, to associate with many gif ted literary 
persons, natives of Scotland. I have commemorated those 
who are departed. 

All the sketches are short, for I have not written 





VI 


PREFA CE. 


biographies, and seldom attempted portraitures. What 
I have chiefly recorded are, my own or my father's ex¬ 
periences or impressions of distinguished persons as we 
knew or found them. In the narrative I have incor¬ 
porated many biographical anecdotes, which, it is hoped , 
may interest the reader, without giving offence to sur¬ 
vivors. For several clerical anecdotes of a bygone 
period ’ I am indebted to Dr Hew Scott's “Fasti,”* a 
work which, it may be remarked, affords the highest 
evidence of what Scottish perseverance can accomplish. 

In thus offering to the public my fourth publication 
illustrative of Caledonian life and manners, I desire to 
record that it is my highest ambition to be regarded 
as a humble coadjutor of my admirable friend Dean 
Ramsay, whose inimitable “ Reminiscences,” now in 
the nineteenth edition , have rendered Scottish social and 
literary anecdote a subject of interest throughout the 
world. 

CHARLES ROGERS. 

Snozvdoun Villa, Lewisham, Kent, 

June 1871. 


* Fasti Ecclesice Scoticanse; The Succession of Ministers in the Parish 
Churches of Scotland from the Reformation to the present time. By 
Hnv Scott, D. D. 



fntn>iuuti<m. 

PAGE. 

Character of Scottish Wit; The Colonel of Volunteers 
and the Gentlewoman; James Boswell and his father, 

Lord Auchinleck ; Religious Scrupulosity ; Resistance of 
Public Wrong; Sunday Observance; Henry Crabbe 
Robinson and the Edinburgh Citizen ; Captain Robinson 
and the Iona Church Keeper ; Cottage Habits thirty years 
ago ; The Wigtonshire Magistrate and the Toll-girl; The 
Irish Gentleman and the Scottish Laird ; Scottish Preach¬ 
ing in the Eighteenth Century ; Anecdote of the Edinburgh 
Elder ; Story of Robert Flockhart, the Street Preacher ; 

The Octogenarian Minister and his Beadle ; Anecdote of 
a Sexton ; Isolation and its Evils; “ Burnin’ a Waiter;” 
Scottish Doggedness ; The Rebellions of 1715 and 1745 ; 

The Northern Landlord and his Hind ; The Country 
Minister and his Old Parishioner ; Anecdote of Principal 
Lee and Professor Robertson ; A Scottish Trader and his 
Ailments; The Rev. Robert Innes and the Military 
Officer ; Peculiar Appellatives ; Anecdote of Rev. John 
Mackenzie of Lochcarron; Baron Graham and the 
Criminal; Anecdotes of the late Sir John Hay, Bart. ; 
Scottish Shepherds and their Dogs ; Remarkable Instances 
of Canine Sagacity ; The Greyfriars Dog “ Bobby.” xiii-xxiv 


CLerif, anir fural ^iiMDotcs. 

Humour of the Clergy ; Mr Robert Bruce and James VI. ; 
Rev. Ebenezer Erskine and the gentlewoman ; Rev. 
James Galt and the Rector of Arthuret ; The Seceding 









Vlll 


CONTENTS . 


PAGE 


Minister and Mr James Wilson of Symington ; Mr Birnie, 
minister of Lanark, and the Guild of Tailors and Shoe¬ 
makers ; Anecdote of the Rev. George More of Edinburgh ; 
Rev. John Clark of Blackford and his Seceding Parishioners; 
Rev. William Campbell of Lilliesleaf in the Stage Coach ; 
His Roadside Adventure; Rev. John Lookup and Anne, 
Duchess of Hamilton ; Rev. George Cupples and his 
Clerical Neighbour ; Rev. Sir Henry Moncreiff, Bart., and 
the Highland Minister ; Mr Andrew Melville of St An¬ 
drews—his Severity of Manners ; Story of the Rev. Mr 
Spark of St Magnus and his Humorous Neighbour ; The 
Rev. William Russell of Kilbirnie’s Expressions in prayer • 
Mr Reid of Prestonpans’ Irreverence in the Pulpit; Rev. 
Neil M‘Vicar of St Cuthbert’s and Prince Charles 
Edward; Rev. Nathaniel M‘Kie’s Familiar Mode of 
Pulpit Exposition ; Rev. William Leslie of St Andrews, 
Lhanbride, and his Eccentric Certificates ; Amusing Entry 
in a Minister’s Diary ; Rev. William Thom of Govan at the 
Ordination of Mr Furlong ; Mr John Hunter, Minister of 
Ayr, in the General Assembly ; Rev. Dr Michael M‘Culloch 
of Bothwell and his Reverend Brother at Dunlop ; Epitaph 
on Mr William Bell, minister of Errol; The Rev. Prin¬ 
cipal Taylor and the two Noblemen; “Billy’s Board;” 
Rev. William Russell of Kilbirnie and his Doctrine ; Mr 
Luke Stirling of Kilmaronock avenged ; Anecdotes of Peter 
Drummond, Beadle of St Monance ; The Minister’s Man 
at Lintrathen ; Saunders Grant and the “New Cut;” 
Rev. Alexander Moncreiff of Culfargie and his “Man” 
John ; The Minister's Man at Kinross ; Awkward Occur¬ 
rence in Kinross Church ; A Tailor’s Somnolency ; The 
Dunfermline Miner on Lamp-trimming; Ministers who 
shaved on Sunday objected to ; National Love of Titles ; 
Ronald Macdonald’s Fortunate Misnomer ; Military Pro¬ 
ducts of the Isle of Skye ; Mr Heriot and the Duke of 
Wellington ; The Countryman Undone ; Alexander, Duke 
of Hamilton, and his Love of Art ; James, Earl of Aber- 
corn, and his Brother the Clergyman ; Anecdotes of 
Patrick, Lord Robertson, and Mr Alexander Douglas, 


CONTENTS . 


IX 


PAGE 

W.S..; Dr Meikle of Camwath and the Wasp-sting; 
Epigram by Henry Erskine ; Litigation between Gray and 
Turnbull ; The Maiden Sisters at Stirling and their Ima¬ 
ginary Law-suit; Sir Alexander Boswell, Bart., and his 
Solitary Piece of Legislation ; A Signboard at Morning- 
side ; A “ Cheap Sale,” at Edinburgh ; A Kincardineshire 
Farmer doing the Complimentary ; An Elder’s Advice to 
his Young Minister ; A Minister on the Braes of Angus 
and the Hill-farmer ; A Cottar Woman’s Mistake ; School 
Anecdote in the Hebrides ; The Minister taken for a 
Butcher; The Little Girl on Mephibosheth ; Amusing 
Modes of Designation by Scottish Youth ; Dignitaries 
Described in Verse ; Two St Andrews’ Students ; The 
Hebridean Sergeant and his Muster-Roll; Juvenile Humour; 

Dr John Ritchie’s Eloquence Disputed ; A Dunfermline 
Youth and an Old Miser ; Mr Lyell of Kinnordy and the Old 

Crofter ; The Countess of A-and the Housewife ; The 

Old Woman and the Bishop ; Janet Halliday and her 
Minister’s “Translation”; The Geologist Undone; Rev. 

Dr Bell and the Baptism of a Peasant’s Child, . * 1-39 

% dutmtnr pinister anir |is gMoIIerims. 

Rev. James Roger, Minister of Dunino — his Character and 
Literary Habits—his Recollections of St Andrews Univer¬ 
sity ; Professor John Playfair of Edinburgh ; Dr Samuel 
Johnson at St Andrews ; Anecdotes ; Bursars’ Accommo¬ 
dation at St Andrews ; Robert Fergusson, the Poet, at St 
Andrews ; Memorials of Dr John Hunter of St Andrews ; 
Principal Hill; Anecdotes ; Professor William Brown ; 
Principal William Laurence Brown of Aberdeen ; Principal 
Campbell of Aberdeen ; Professor Alexander Gerard ; Dr 
James Beattie, Author of “The Minstrel James Boswell 
and Dr Johnson ; The Highlanders and Prince Charles 
Edward ; Sir John Sinclair, Bart. ; George Dempster of 
Dunnichen; Lunan and Vinney Farming Society ; The 
Farmer’s Mistake ; Electioneering Anecdotes ; Mr Mac- 



X 


CONTENTS ,. 


PAGE 


pherson, the Editor of “Ossian;” Junius’s Letters, and 
Woodfall the Printer; John Pinkerton, the Antiquary; 
William Playfair of London ; Rev. William Thomson, 
LL.D. ; Principal Playfair, Author of “ The Chronology 
Colonel W. D. Playfair; Colonel Sir H. L. Playfair, 
LL.D.; Dr Lyon Playfair. C.B., M.P.; Professor Henry 
David Hill; Professor James Brown ; Dr James Hunter of 
St Andrews ; A Pulpit Anecdote ; Dr Thomas Chalmers, 
and Original Anecdotes of his Early Ministry ; Francis 
Jeffrey; Henry Cockburn; John Home, Author of 
“ Douglas “Lay of the Last MinstrelArchibald Con¬ 
stable ; Alexander Gibson Hunter of Blackness ; Allan Mas- 
terton ; Striking Presentiment; Rev. Sir Henry Moncreiff, 
Bart. ; Dr John Jamieson, Author of the “Scottish Dic¬ 
tionary;” Professor John Fleming; Principal Lee; his 
Numerous Appointments and Personal Humour ; Dr 
James Browne, Author of “ History of the Highlands;” 
Professor William Tennant ; Musomanik Society of 
Anstruther ; Captain Charles Gray, .... 

Igtn | Jaiu fitffton. 

Professor Gillespie of St Andrews ; Personal Anecdotes ; 
Dr George Cook of St Andrews ; Anecdote of Municipal 
Patronage; Sir David Brewster and his Alleged Persecution; 
Anecdotes ; Principal Haldane of St Andrews ; Dr David 
Irving, Author of “ Lives of the Scotish PoetsDr Thomas 
Dick, Author of “The Christian Philosopher;” Scottish 
Literary Institute ; Dr Livingstone, the Traveller ; Dr John 
Reid, the Physiologist; Professor George Wilson of Edin¬ 
burgh; Dr James Robertson, and his Endowment Scheme; 
Anecdotes of Dr Robertson ; Hugh Miller ; James, eighth 
Earl of Elgin ; The National Wallace Monument; Sir 
Archibald Alison, Bart. ; Specimens of his Oratory ; Gene¬ 
ral Sir James Maxwell Wallace; Sheriff Gordon of Edin¬ 
burgh ; his Sociality and Eloquence ; Professor Aytoun, 
and his Humour; Anecdote of Professor Wilson ; Pro- 


40-97 


CONTENTS. x 

PAGE 

fessor Ferrier of St Andrews; Professor George Moir; 
Professor Sir George Ballingal; Professor Pillans; Dr 
Strang of Glasgow ; Rev. Dr John Robertson of Glasgow ; 

Dr Robert Lee of Edinburgh, his Eloquence and Eccle¬ 
siastical Policy ; Dr John Aiton of Dolphinton, Author of 
“Clerical Economics,” and other works ; Dr Patrick Bell, 
Inventor of the Reaping Machine ; Professor Sir James 
Y. Simpson, Bart. ; Rev. Dr Cooke of Belfast; his 
Humour and Power in Debate; Rev. Canon Melvill; 

Dr Robert Chambers, ...... 98-184 

ifiitoJanit Dpnstnls. 

Robert Burns ; Recollections by his Sister, Mrs Begg ; 
Recollections of the Poet by a Trader at St Ninians ; 

Robert Burns, the Poet’s Eldest Son; The Colonels 
Bums ; Burns’s Business Habits ; Narrative of Dr 
Thomas Duncan of Dumfries ; Anecdote related by Mr 
William M ‘Dowall; Burns’s volume of Dr Blair’s Sermons; 
Anecdote of Burns and the Young Nobleman ; His Ode, 

“ Scots Wha Hae ; ” Liberality of Lord Panmure to Mrs 
Burns; Robert Tannahill; William Glen, author of “Wae’s 
me for Prince Charlie ; ” Lady Nairne and her Minstrelsy ; 

Mrs Agnes Lyon, author of words to Neil Gow’s “ Fare¬ 
well to Whisky; ” Anecdotes and Illustrations in the 
History of Sir Walter Scott ; Professor Shank More’s 
Anecdote of Scott ; Dean Ramsay’s Impressions of Scott’s 
Religious Character; A Literary Detractor Exposed; 

Allan Cunningham; Peter Cunningham, author of 
“ Handbook of London ; ” William Pagan, author of 
“ Road Reform ; ” The Ettrick Shepherd, his Genius and 
Peculiarities ; Mrs Hogg, her Domestic Qualities and In¬ 
teresting Reminiscences ; The Ettrick Shepherd’s Family ; 

John Gibson Lockhart and his Cynicism; The Poet Mother- 
well ; Thomas Lyle, author of “Kelvin Grove;” Alex¬ 
ander Carlile and his Song “ Wha’s at the Window ? wha, 
wha ? ” Dr John Park, author of the song “ O an’ I were 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

where Gadie rins ; ” Andrew Park, author of “Silent 
Love ” and other Poems ; Hugh Macdonald, the Glasgow 
Poet ; James Macfarlan, a Poetical Prodigy ; Alexander 
Smith, author of the “Life Drama;” Anecdotes; Alex¬ 
ander Laing, author of “ Wayside Flowers ;” John Nevay, 
the Forfar Poet; John Younger of St Boswells, author of 
the Prize Essay on the Sabbath ; Elliot Aitchison of 
Hawick ; James Telfer, the Liddesdale Poet; Henry 
Scott Riddell; Dr John Leyden and his Family ; Rev. T. 

G. Torry Anderson ; Alexander Bald of Alloa ; Robert 
Bald, the Mining Engineer; John Hunter, LL.D., of 
Craigcrook,.. 185-239 


Bards and Seanachies ; Sub-Ossianic Period; Modern Poetry 
of the Highlands ; Robert Mackay, Rob Donn ; Dougal 
Buchanan; Duncan Macintyre; John Macodrum ; Norman 
Macleod ; Alexander Macdonald ; John Roy Stuart; 
William Ross; Lachlan Macvurich; James M‘Laggan; 

Ivan Maclachlan; The Three Bards of Cowal; John 
Brown ; Rev. Dr Charles Stewart; Angus Fletcher ; Rev. 

Dr John Macdonald ; Duncan Kennedy . . . 240-320 





INTRODUCTION. 




VKJ POPULAR writer has set forth, that the inhabi- 
¥ tants of the British Isles, born in localities resting 
on the primary rocks, are mentally and physically 
robust. That natives of mountainous regions are highly 
imaginative and addicted to humour, experience has proved. 
The saying of Sydney Smith, quoted till it has become 
stale, that a surgical operation is required to put a joke 
into a Scotsman’s head, may apply to jests founded on mere 
word-playing; not to those of the higher humour. Scottish 
wit consists in the scintillation of ideas. A Colonel of 
Volunteer Cavalry complaining of the inefficiency of his 
officers, said that the duties of the corps wholly devolved 
upon himself. “ I am,” said he, “ my own captain, my own 
lieutenant, my own cornet.” A lady ejaculated—“And 
your own trumpeter, too!” James Boswell expatiating to 
his father, Lord Auchinleck, on the learning and other 
qualities of Dr Johnson, concluded, “he is the grand 










XIV 


INTRODUCTION. 


luminary of our hemisphere—quite a constellation, sir.” 
“ Ursa Major, I suppose,” drily responded the judge. 

If the national humour has been under-valued, Scotsmen 
have for other qualities been over-praised. It may seriously 
be doubted whether the religious scrupulosity of the Scots 
has arisen from enlightened personal convictions. In re¬ 
forming the Church from Romish error, Scotsmen were 
animated by a zeal exceeding that of their southern neigh¬ 
bours. This zeal did not arise from any well-defined 
acquaintance with the Reformed doctrines. Till the down¬ 
fall of the ancient church, copies of the Bible in Scotland 
were extremely rare. The people were disgusted by the 
profligacy and stung by the avarice of the priesthood, and 
thus were ready at a moment’s warning to devastate the 
palaces and monasteries which sheltered their oppressors. 

The second Reformation, as it has been termed, was not 
more marked by popular intelligence. Prelacy was abhorred ; 
but few took pains to inquire whether the Episcopal govern¬ 
ment was lawful. To the bulk of the nation it was sufficient 
that self-willed kings had resolved to maintain it without 
constitutional sanction. In vindicating civil liberty, the 
nation became religious. 

Sunday is observed with a well-intended respect, but not in¬ 
telligently. Shaving on that day was formerly pronounced 
sinful, hot dinners were disallowed, and more conspicuous pro¬ 
fessors kept down their window-blinds. Children were forbid¬ 
den all exercises save that of committing to memory Psalms 


INTK OD UCTION 


xv 


and texts, and a portion of the “ Catechism.” Henry Crabbe 
Robinson was, during his visit to Edinburgh in 1821, taking 
a walk at an early hour of a Sunday morning, when, seeing 
a large unfinished building, he asked a passer-by what it was. 
“ It is a grammar school,” said the pedestrian; “ but I 

1 

think it would better become you this mornin’ to be readin’ 
your Bible at home, than to be inquirin’ aboot public 
buildings ! ” A strong illustration of the morose character 
of Scottish Sunday observance is related by Mr Mark Boyd 
in his lately-published “ Reminiscences.” * His brother-in- 
law, Captain Robinson, had, in the course of surveying the 
west coast, received on board his steamer the Grand Duke 
Constantine of Russia. As the duke could only remain a 
very short time, the captain resolved to show him as much 
as possible during his brief stay. Accordingly he steamed 
to Iona on a Sunday, believing that day especially suited 
for pointing out to his royal visitor remains associated with 
religion. Landing on the island, he waited on the custodian 
of the ancient church with the request that he would open 
it. “ Not so,” said the keeper, “ not on Sunday.” “ Do 
you know whom I have brought to the island ? ” said the 
captain. “ He’s the Emperor of a’ the Russias, I ken by 
the flag,” responded the keeper; “ but had it been the 
Queen hersel’, I wadna gi’e up the keys on the Lord’s 
day.” “Would you take a glass of whisky on the Sabbath?” 

* “Reminiscences of Fifty Years,” by Mark Boyd. London, 1871. 
8vo, p. 55'7- 


XVI 


INTRODUCTION. 


inquired the captain. “ That’s a different thing entirely,” 
said the keeper. 

At a very recent period only has the Scottish peasant 
come to comprehend the truth that cleanliness is allied to 
godliness. Thirty years ago domestic tidiness was rare. 
Flowers stood in the sills of cottage windows, but the panes 
were darkened with cobwebs. The “ gudeman” shaved and 
washed only on the Saturday; the “ gudewife” performed 
her ablutions daily, but not until the evening. Every cot¬ 
tage child went to school with face and hands unwashed. 
No boy or girl wore shoes or stockings—the former before 
he could hold the plough, the latter till she was married. 
Female domestic training was especially neglected. The 
mothers being sluts, the daughters became the same. Cot¬ 
tage maidens only dressed their hair when making ready 
for the market or the church. 

On this subject, I am privileged to quote from the fas¬ 
cinating pages of Mr Boyd. His father, a county magis¬ 
trate of Wigtonshire, was struck with the beauty of a toll- 
keeper’s daughter in his neighbourhood, but lamented her 
untidiness. She usually received the toll-money. One 
day, instead of pausing at the toll-gate, he caused the 
driver to pass on, amidst the girl’s exclamations, “Stop, 
coachman; the laird has no pay’t me.” At length he 
asked the driver to pull up the reins, and the girl walked 
up. “ Do you not know, my girl,” said the laird, “ that if 
a girl asks for toll with a dirty face, she is not entitled to 


INTRODUCTION. 


XVII 


payment.” “ Dear me, sir,” said the girl, “ I ne’er kent 
that afore: ma faither ne’er tel’t me.” The toll was paid 
under protest, and in a fortnight afterwards, when the laird 
again drove up to the toll-bar, the girl appeared with a 
bright clean face. In answer to the laird’s inquiry, she 
said that “ her faither, though he maist doubtit aboot the 
rule the laird had mentioned, thocht it as weel not to be 
runnin’ ony risks, and had asked her to weish her face ilka 
mornin’.” “ Very good,” said the laird, “ but you have 
omitted to comb your hair.” “ Maybe, Sir,” said the girl, 
“ but ye didna say a word aboot my reddin’ ma heid.” 
That duty being explained as indispensable, the girl pro¬ 
mised to obey. “ Since I began to weish ma face ilka 
mornin’,” she added, “ I dinna maist but like it.” 

The degraded condition of the peasantry was in some 
measure owing to the niggardly character of landlords and 
others, who conceived that money expended in promoting 
the comfort of the humbler classes was wasted. An Irish 
gentleman visiting a Scottish manor, was, in passing through 
the adjacent village, struck by the charms of a girl in a 
milliner’s shop. That he might have a closer view of her, 
he proposed to enter the shop and purchase a watch-ribbon. 
“ Hoot,” said the occupant of the manor, “ don’t waste 
your siller ; let us go in and inquire if she can give us two 
sixpences for a shilling ! ” 

From the prelections of the clergy, results favourable to 

the elevation of the people might have been anticipated. 

b 


XV111 


INTRODUCTION. 


But Scottish preaching, after the struggle of the seventeenth 
century, became sterile and unedifying. Many of the rural 
clergy were Arians. Those who were doctrinally sound 
were often imperfectly educated. They generally sprang 
from the people, and preserved the native vernacular. Both 
ministers and elders used words and phrases which created 
merriment rather than devotion. At a weekly prayer meet¬ 
ing in a Secession church at Edinburgh, one of the elders 
expressed himself thus : “ Our faith is become like gizzened 
(leaky) barrels. Lord, ding up the girs ” (hoops.) The late 
Robert Flockhart, a well-known street preacher at Edin¬ 
burgh, related the circumstances of his conversion in these 
words : “ My heart was black as a sweep’s face—but noo it 
is white as a washer-woman’s thoomb!” No extent of 
earnestness in the speakers could on such occasions pre¬ 
vent a smile. 

The unadorned literature of the pulpit exercised its more 
immediate influence on the church-officer and parochial 
sexton. A late octogenarian minister in Fifeshire was pro¬ 
ceeding to give out his text, when he suddenly remembered 
that he had left his MS. in his study. Explaining his loss, 
and taking up his hat, he added, “Just sing from the begin¬ 
ning of the 119th psalm, an’ I’ll be back immediately.” 
His return being delayed, the beadle met him at the door 
with the exclamation, “ Come awa, sir, come awa, for we’re 
a’ cheepin’ like mice.” George Scott, a sexton of Perthshire, 
was rejoiced that an epidemic was raging in the parish; 


INTRODUCTION. 


xix 


for,” said he, “for six months I haena buried a leevin 
sowl, binna a scart o’ a bairn.” 

We may not wholly ascribe the degraded manners of the 
peasantry to the supineness of their landlords, or the quaint 
language of the clergy. No inconsiderable portion of the 
evil was due to isolation. Those who, from one generation 
to another, lived apart from the rest of the world, acquired 
dialects and modes of expression which rendered them 
ridiculous. In the counties of Berwick and Roxburgh, tea 
is, by the peasantry, pronounced toy, a word which also 
denotes an old woman’s mutch. Water is in the same dis¬ 
trict pronounced waiter —a name familiar to travellers. A 
friend being some years ago on a visit to Roxburghshire, 
established his headquarters in a town bordering on the 
Tweed. Walking out one morning by the margin of the 
river, he heard a fisherman say to his neighbour, “ Lord 
John Scott last nicht was burnin’ the waiter.” “Burning 
the waiter ! ” ejaculated my informant; “ and is he dead ? ” 
“ Na,” said the piscator , “ there’s naebody ony waur. They 
had fine sport.” “ Do you call burning a person sport ? ” 
asked my horrified friend. “ There was naebody brent,” 
said the fisherman, “ only a waiter I “ And is not a waiter 
a man ? ” persisted my informant. “ Oh, we mean waiter — 
watter—wetter. His lordship was fishin’ in a river wi’ torch- 
licht, and that we ca’ burnin ’ a waiter I 

The doggedness of the Scottish people has been alluded 
to. In opposition they excel, and are never more energetic 


XX 


INTRODUCTION. 


than when demolishing an antagonist. Both the insurrec¬ 
tions of last century on behalf of the house of Stuart arose 
in Scotland. For the Stuarts personally, the Scots had no 
feelings of respect. In Scotland had arisen that civil war 
which culminated in the decapitation of Charles I., and the 
movement which led to the flight of James II. commenced 
in Scotland also. Of the government of William and Mary 
and the House of Hanover the Scots did not complain. 
The northerners rose in rebellion at the call of their chiefs, 
who sought to avenge themselves on their lowland neigh¬ 
bours, with whom they were constantly at feud. Some 
sought to revenge the Darien scheme against England. 

The Scottish peasant will faithfully obey his master, who 
must not, however, interfere with his religious belief. A 
northern landowner gave me the following. He had erected 
on his estate a place of worship in connection with the Epis¬ 
copal communion, and had thereby unconsciously excited 
among his people some unpleasant misgivings. Soon after¬ 
wards, on inspecting a newly-erected sheep-pen, he remarked 
to a hind who attended him, that it was too extravagantly 
ornamented. “ ’Deed is it, sir,” said the hind; “ it’s owre 
Episcopal chapel lookin’! ” 

I have obtained some anecdotes of Scottish espieglerie 
since the first portion of this work was printed. A country 
minister in Fife, who had been translated from one parish 
to another, was one Sunday exchanging pulpits with his 
successor in his former charge. At the close of the service, 


IN TROD UCT10N. 


xxi 


an elderly woman asked him what had become of her ain 
minister. “ Oh, we’re exchanging,” he replied, “ he’s with 
my people to-day.” “ Indeed, indeed,” said the matron, 
“ they’ll be gettin’ a treat the day.” 

Principal Lee of Edinburgh University was much inclined 
to complain of his health, and to expatiate on his ailments. 
He was met one morning by the late Professor Robertson, 
who expressed a hope that he was well. “ Far from well,” 
said the Principal; “ I’ve had no sleep for a fortnight.” 
“Then, Principal,” said Dr Robertson, “you’re getting better; 
for when last we met, you had not slept for six weeks ! ” 

A Scottish trader of eccentric habits was constantly 
troubled about his health. He believed himself a sufferer 
from every epidemic which visited the locality, and could 
hardly be induced to change his sentiments even on the 
assurance of his physician. At length the cattle plague 
broke out, and reading in his newspaper a description of 
the malady, he began to persuade himself that he was “ in ” 
for the disease. Hastily summoning “ the doctor,” he ex¬ 
patiated on his ailment, which of course resembled that of 
which he had been reading. “ I hope you really don’t feel 
so,” interrupted the M.D., “ for there is an order by the 
Privy Council that every beast with these symptoms must 
immediately be shot.” The trader felt better ! 

The Rev. Robert Innes, minister of Huntly (1742-1800) 
was powerful in repartee. He often had recourse to it in 
silencing the utterances of the profane. A company of 


XXII 


INTRODUCTION. 


soldiers were being inspected by their officer, who at the 
time used oaths. Mr Innes stepped behind him, and, tak¬ 
ing off his hat, proceeded, after every oath, to say “Amen !” 
The officer turned round and asked him what he meant. 
“ I am joining in prayer,” said Mr Innes. “ Thank you,” 
said the officer; “ but I have no further need of a clerk. 
Soldiers, to the right about—march ! ” 

Some anecdotes are afterwards related illustrative of a 
tendency to the use of peculiar appellatives common to 
Scottish youth. A few may be added. A land-surveyor 
in Fifeshire who lacked his right hand was known as 
“ Handy Martin.” My father, who wore a large necktie, 
was styled “the British Linen Company,” a designation 
which he enjoyed. An Edinburgh banker was, owing to a 
crouching gait, known as “ The Deerstalker.” The late 
Rev. John Mackenzie of Lochcarron, bore the sobriquet of 
“Potato John,” on account of a foolish escapade practised 
in his presence by a college companion, and which was 
erroneously ascribed to him. It was alleged that he thrust 
a hot potato in the hand of a college companion who was 
indiscreetly expatiating in a long blessing while his associates 
were starving. 

It is pleasant, on the other hand, to discover among the 
Scottish people traits of a hearty generosity and abounding 
benevolence. Actuated by a courtly bearing, Baron Graham, 
a London judge of Scottish birth, when informed that he 
had omitted to pass sentence of death on a condemned 


INTR OD UCTION 


XXlll 


criminal, exclaimed, “ Oh, I beg the prisoner’s pardon.” 
The courtesy of my late friend Sir John Hay, Bart., was 
more substantial, when, as a county magistrate, he con¬ 
demned a carter to imprisonment for an act of larceny, he 
asked, him to send his donkey to Gartur, his place of resi¬ 
dence, till he had sustained his punishment. On account 
of his liberality, Sir John was frequently imposed upon 
by mendicants. He ceased to give money, finding that it 
was generally expended in the ale-house. Even when he 
bestowed bread he found that loaves were exchanged for 
whisky. At length he fell upon an expedient. From every 
loaf he distributed he bit a portion ; it was thus rendered 
useless for market, and had therefore to be eaten. Sir 
John in sentencing a lad to a short imprisonment, concluded, 
“ See you are never here again, for it will be—” and here he 
crooned the tune “ Owre the water to Charlie.” 

The kindly consideration evinced by the Scottish peasantry 
towards the domestic animals has frequently been remarked. 
Shepherds are most attentive to their dogs, which con¬ 
sequently become their attached companions. A clerical 
friend who formerly ministered in Roxburghshire, was visit¬ 
ing a member of his flock. Before the fireplace lay three 
dogs, apparently asleep. At the sound of a whistle two 
rose up and walked out; the third remained still. “It is 
odd,” said my friend, “ that this dog does not get up like 
the others.” “ It’s no astonishin’ ava,” said the shepherd, 
“ for it’s no his turn ; he was oot i’ the mornin’.” 


XXIV 


INTRODUCTION. 


A friend staying in the family of a sheep-farmer in the 
south country, remarked that daily as the family sat at 
dinner, a shepherd’s collie came in, received its portion, and 
soon after disappeared. “ I never see that dog,” said the 
visitor, “except at dinner.” “The reason is,” said the 
farmer, “we’ve lent him to oor neibour, Jamie Nicol, an’ 
we telt him to come hame ilka day to his dinner. When he 
gets his dinner, puir beast, he gaes awa back till his wark.” 

About twelve years ago the remains of a man named 
Gray, who lived in poor circumstances, were interred in the 
Greyfriars Churchyard, Edinburgh. His little terrier dog, 
“ Bobby,” accompanied the funeral party to the grave, 
where next morning he was found keeping affectionate 
watch. The keeper of the ground drove “ Bobby ” away, 
but next morning he was back again, and the third morning 
too, though it was cold and wet. At length the keeper’s 
heart was moved, and he fed poor Bobby. Another 
benefactor arose in Sergeant Scott of the Royal Engineers, 
in whose house “Bobby” dined daily for some years. 
When the Sergeant went elsewhere, Mr John Trail of Grey¬ 
friars Place succeeded him as Bobby’s benefactor. Every 
day, as the Castle gun signalled one o’clock, did Bobby 
leave his post for his daily meal; when it was finished he 
hastened back to the grave. For ten long years, in all con¬ 
ditions of the weather, did the faithful animal maintain his 
watch, testifying in a manner never surpassed the endurance 
of canine gratitude. 



CLERIC, CIVIC, AND RURAL ANECDOTES. 





HAT is perfervidum ingenium —burning wit or ill 
nature ? Probably a touch of both. The Scots¬ 
man, whether peer or peasant, is neither a Lord 
Dundreary nor a down. There is an intellectual fire, 
a moral force about him. He may denounce his an¬ 
tagonists as if he would invoke fire from Heaven to smite 
them, or the earth to swallow them up; but in his ire he 
will utter no common-places. When in humorous vein he 
will not be content to play on words only. As he jests, he 
sounds an intellectual chord till “ roof and rafters ” ring with 


his jocundity. 

The humorous faculty has largely pertained to the Scottish 
clergy. By eliminating coarseness, learning has imparted 
to cleric jests a point and energy which render them potent, 
not on the occasions of utterance merely, but when those 
occasions have passed away. Mr Robert Bruce, minister 


A 















2 


CLERIC , CIVIC, 


of Edinburgh, was one of the most zealous and independent 
of early Presbyterian pastors. James VI. attended his 
ministry, but with that indifference which was his charac¬ 
teristic, he often whispered to his attendants during ser¬ 
vice. Mr Bruce, after various expedients had failed to 
induce the irreverent monarch to conduct himself becom¬ 
ingly, took a more decided course. Finding the king one 
day engaged in conversation during the progress of his dis¬ 
course, he said, emphatically, looking towards the royal 
pew, “ It is a saying, ascribed to Solomon, that when the 
lion roareth, all the beasts of the field are at ease. The. 
lion of the tribe of Judah is now roaring in the voice of 
His Gospel, and it becomes the kings of the earth to keep 
silence.” James was for the time overawed, and ceased 
talking. 

The Rev. Ebenezer Erskine of Stirling, one of the 
founders of the Secession Church, was assisting at a com¬ 
munion in a neighbouring parish. A lady belonging to the 
congregation was much impressed, and, expecting similar 
benefit, went to hear Mr Erskine in his own church the 
following Sunday. After service, on this occasion, she 
waited on Mr Erskine, and told him that she had not been 
so much edified as when she heard him in her parish 
church. “ I fear,” she added, “ that I have not been hear¬ 
ing to-day with a proper spirit.” “Yes said Mr Erskine, 
“ last Sunday you went to hear the Gospel, and to-day you 
came to hear Ebenezer Erskine.” 


AND RURAL ANECDOTES. 


3 


The Rev. James Galt, minister of Gretna (1730-1787) 
was an eminent theological scholar, and his society was 
much courted by leading clergymen of the sister establish¬ 
ment. He had gone to dine with the Rev. Mr James, 
rector of Arthuret, in Cumberland; but, appearing in very 
plain attire at the door of the rectory, the servant told him 
to “ be off, as the poor were not served there.” Observing 
his withdrawal from a window, Mr James directed the ser¬ 
vant to run after him, make an apology, and bring him back. 
Mr Galt refused. “ It is my rule,” he said, “ to enter no 
house where the poor are not served.” 

A reproof of a different character was passed on Mr James 
Wilson, minister of Symington, by a seceding minister, in 
1738. Holding public worship on the green near Syming¬ 
ton manse, the reverend seceder prayed thus: “ Thou 
knowest that that silly, snivelling body is not worthy even 
to keep a door in thy house. Cut him down as a cumberer 
of the ground. Tear him up, root and branch, and cast the 
wild, rotten stump out of Thy vineyard. Thrash him, O 
Lord, and dinna spare ! O thrash him tightly with the flail 
of Thy wrath, and make a strae wisp of him to stap the 
mouth of hell! ” 

Mr Birnie, minister of Lanark (1643-1691) was of a 
conciliatory nature, and singularly facetious. After the 
erection of a new parish church, a contest arose between 
the tailors and shoemakers respecting a right to sittings 
in the gallery. All attempts to promote tranquillity proved 


4 CLERIC , C/F/C, 

\ 

fruitless, till Mr Birnie pronounced a decision in the follow¬ 
ing couplet: 

“It is weel ken’d through a’ the toun, 

We draw on our hose before our shoon.” 

The following anecdote has often been related, but seldom 
correctly. The Rev. George More, minister of the Original 
Secession Church, Edinburgh, was riding to the village of 
Howgate, in the vicinity of the city. The day was stormy, 
snow falling heavily. Mr More was enveloped in a Spanish 
cloak, with a woman’s shawl tied round his neck and 
shoulders. These loose garments, covered with snow, and 
waving in the blast, startled the horse of a commercial 
traveller who chanced to ride past. The alarmed steed 
plunged, and menaced to throw its rider, who exclaimed, 
“You would frighten the devil, sir!” “May be,” said 
Mr More, “for it’s just my trade.” 

After the Disruption in 1843, very hostile feelings were 
entertained by a portion of the seceding party against those 
who remained. Several parishioners of Blackford, Perth¬ 
shire, called on the Rev. John Clark, the parochial incum¬ 
bent, and preferred the request that they might have the 
services of a non-erastian sexton. “ Will you allow us, sir, 
to dig our own graves ? ” said one of the party. “ Cer¬ 
tainly,” said Mr Clark, “you are most welcome; and the 
sooner the better ! ” 

The Rev. William Campbell, minister of Lilliesleaf (1758- 


AND RURAL ANECDOTES. 


5 


1804), remembered as “Roaring Willie,” was celebrated for 
his humour. Returning from the General Assembly, one 
hot day of June, he found himself, as an inside passenger of 
the stage-coach, much oppressed by the excessive warmth. 
When his discomfort had reached the utmost pitch of en¬ 
durance, he began to utter sounds like the barking of 
a dog. He said, “ My friends, I think it fair to mention 
that I was lately bit by a mad dog, and I am afraid the heat 
of this place is bringing on the disease. Wow — wow — 
wow / I feel it coming on. I hope I shall not hurt any 
one. Wow — wow — wough — wough — wongh! Several of 
the passengers called out lustily to the driver to stop the 
coach, and all precipitately rushed out. Mr Campbell 
got abundant accommodation during the remainder of his 
journey. 

Mr Campbell lived at a period when festivities at the 
farm-houses were prolonged till morning hours. Returning 
from a convivial meeting somewhat late, he stumbled, and 
being somewhat stunned, he fell asleep on the roadside. In 
the morning he was awakened by a cotter wife, who ex¬ 
claimed, on helping him up, “ Eh! Maister Cammel, wae’s 
me ! wae’s me ! ” Realising the awkwardness of his plight, 
Mr Campbell held up his hand, deprecating further cen¬ 
sure—then said, “Whist, woman; it’s a wager!” Having 
silenced suspicion, he leisurely returned to the manse. 

The Rev. John Lookup, minister of Midcalder (1698- 
1 758), was short in stature, but very asserting of his personal 


6 


CLERIC ; CIVIC, 


dignity. When a licentiate, he was recommended by Prin¬ 
cipal Carstairs of Edinburgh to Anne, Duchess of Hamilton, 
as a domestic chaplain. The Duchess having expressed a 
desire to see him, the Principal accompanied him to Holy- 
rood Palace, where the Duchess then resided. Her Grace 
was struck with the diminutive figure of the proposed 
chaplain, and said so to the Principal as he entered her 
boudoir. Mr Lookup, who was waiting in the adjoining 
room, overheard Her Grace’s exclamation as to his small¬ 
ness, and was indignant. The Duchess called him to her 
presence, and offered him her chaplainship, with the recom¬ 
pense of bed, board, and washing, and a salary of five 
pounds. “ If your terms are so small, madam,” said Mr 
Lookup, “ some one even smaller than myself must be got 
to accept them.” So saying, he took up his hat and walked 
off. 

The Rev. George Cupples, minister of Swinton (1754- 
1817), was remarkable for a vein of good-humoured repartee. 
Meeting a brother minister in the town of Dunse, Mr Cupples, 
after the usual salutation, said, “ And what has brought you 
here to-day ? ” “I cam’ ” said the reverend brother, “ to 
tak’ aff a new coat.” “ Not to tak’ it on, I hope,” rejoined 
Mr Cupples. 

The Rev. Sir Henry Moncreiff, Bart., was collector for 
the Ministers’ Widows Fund. Having reproved a Highland 
minister for being considerably behind in the payment of 
his rates, he was met with the retort, “Sir Harry, if you’re 


AND RURAL ANECDOTES . 7 

an anointed minister of the Word, you have been anointed 
wi’ vinegar.” 

The celebrated Mr Andrew Melville of St Andrews, was 
of an ardent temperament, and consequently was often in 
collision with the civil power. On one occasion, several of 
his brethren expostulated with him on the severity of his 
manners. Melville said gently, “ If you see my fire go down¬ 
ward, put your foot upon it; but, if it go upward, let it 
return to its own place.” 

It was the practice of the older clergy to indulge in ex¬ 
pressions of humour during their public services. A minister 
in Orkney frequently exhibited his drollery in this manner. 
Having been asked by the Rev. Mr Spark, minister of St 
Magnus, to conduct service in his church, and, thereafter, to 
baptize his infant daughter, he gave out for singing, before 
the baptismal service, a portion of the fifth paraphrase, be¬ 
ginning 

“ As sparks in close succession rise.” 

As Mr Spark’s helpmate presented him with a child every 
year, the laugh was irresistible. 

Mere simplicity, perhaps, prompted the Rev. William 
Russell of Kilbirnie to use these expressions in prayer: 
“ Lord, Thou knowest we are all false knaves together.” 
But Mr Matthew Reid of Prestonpans, evinced other feel¬ 
ings than those of devotion, when a madman, entering 
church, bearing a quantity of tulips from his garden, he 
ejaculated, “ O Lord! my tulips ! ” That Mr Reid was 


8 CLERIC , Cl VIC ; 

a zealous cultivator of flowers might not plead an excuse 
for his irreverence. 

In connection with public prayer another anecdote may 
be related. The Rev. Neil M‘Vicar was minister of St 
Cuthbert’s, Edinburgh, when the city was occupied by the 
troops of Prince Charles Edward, after the battle of Preston- 
pans. He had a large congregation, and a considerable 
portion of his hearers were known to have Jacobite predi¬ 
lections. Nothing daunted, Mr M‘Vicar prayed, as usual, 
for King George, and added, “ In regard to the young man 
who has come among us in search of an earthly crown, may 
he soon obtain what is far better—a heavenly one.” 

The Rev. Nathaniel M‘Kie, minister of Crossmichael (1739- 
1781), talked to his people from the pulpit with amusing fami¬ 
liarity. Expounding a passage in Exodus, he proceeded thus: 
“And the Lord said unto Moses—Sneck that door! I’m 
thinking if ye had to sit beside the door yoursel’, ye wadna 
be sae ready leaving it open! It was just beside that door 
that Yedam Tamson, the bellman, gat his death o’ cauld; 
and I’m sure, honest man, he didna let it stay muckle open. 
And the Lord said unto Moses—I see a man aneath that 
laft wi’ his hat on. I’m sure, ye’re clear o’ the soogh o’ the 
door. Keep aff yer bannet, Tarnmas; and if yer bare pow 
be cauld, ye maun just get a grey warsit wig, like mysel’. 
They’re no sae dear—plenty o’ them at Bob Gillespie’s for 
tenpence.” The reverend gentleman then proceeded with 
his discourse. 


AND RURAL ANECDOTES. 


9 


One of.the oddest of the old school of clergymen was the 
Rev. William Leslie, laird of Balnageith, and minister of St 
Andrews, Lhaiibryde. During the war with France he re¬ 
ceived his weekly newspaper one Sunday morning just as 
he was leaving the manse for his duties in church. While 
the precentor was singing the first psalm, Mr Leslie was 
busy with his newspaper; and when the precentor ceased, 
he said, “Just sing another verse, John, till I have finished 
this paragraph.” During the discourse, he gave the news 
of a recent battle, so that his procedure at the commence¬ 
ment of the service was more readily excused. On another 
occasion, Mr Leslie remarked, during his discourse, “You 
must excuse me, brethren, not entering so fully into the 
subject to-day, since I have an appointment to dine at 
Ardivit.” He referred to the country seat of an hospitable 
landowner in the vicinity. 

Mr Leslie was celebrated for the readiness with which he 
granted certificates, and for the eccentric manner in which 
these were written. A marriage certificate from his pen 
proceeded thus : 

‘ ‘ Lhanbrycle, Jan. 8, 1833. 

“To whom this may or may not concern, it is hereby 
assigned, that William Bain and Helen Gill, being both 
parishioners of this parish—the parish of St Andrews, Lhan- 
bryde—in the month of March in this passing year 1833, 
was there wedded by the tying of the knot connubial, in 
full form, with all the solemnities which our national clerk 


10 


CLERIC , CIVIC, 


requires, and that they are now mutually and legally entitled, 
with due and competent right, respectively to all the privi¬ 
leges, advantages, and provisions which the ecclesiastical 
and civil laws of the kingdom have secured for husband and 
wife, both in their united connection, and in the contingent 
state of their respective Videntas.* 

“ In respect whereof, etc., 

The certificates of Mr Leslie were not in the strain of un¬ 
limited panegyric. One of his maidens was competitor for 
a prize offered by the Duke of Gordon, to the servant in 
Morayshire, who had longest remained in her situation. 
From her reverend employer she received the following 
testimonial: 

“ Lhanbryde Glebe, 

“ August 3, 1836. 

“ By this writing, I certify and testify, that Kate Bell came 
into my family and service at the term of Whitsunday, in 
the year eighteen hundred and fifteen, and, without change, 
has continued to the date hereof, being a useful, canny ser¬ 
vant at all work about the cows, the dairy, the sick nurse, 
the harvest hay and corn, the service of the parlour and bed 
chambers, and, of late years, mainly the cook. That in my 
regards she merits any boon that our club has to bestow, 
having, in 1815, in her teens , been a comely, tight lass, though 

* Videntas, i.e., lack or want. 





AND RURAL ANECDOTES . 


11 


now fallen into the sere, and but little seductive, though a 
little more self conceited now than she was then—as much 
perhaps a good quality, when not in excess, as a fault. 

“ In respect whereof, etc., 

“Will. Leslie.” 

No agent of the Bible Society ever received a more extra¬ 
ordinary certificate on behalf of an applicant for a copy of 
the Scriptures, than the following: 

“ Elgin, 3d August 1825. 

“ Dear Sir, —The bearer, Jane Taylor, met me acci¬ 
dentally walking out this forenoon. She said if I would 
write this note, certifying that she is a very poor woman, 
you would make her the gift of a Bible. 

“I think her whole appearance may, without my certificate, 
bear the most satisfactory evidence of her extreme poverty; 
and as she has not so much common understanding to be 
sensible that she may save her soul by the public worship 
of our pure Presbyterian Church, as surely as by the public 
worship of any of the schismatic synagogues, she increases 
the weight of her poverty by misapplying the greater part of 
what she gets from the collections made by the Presby¬ 
terians, for the poor of the parish, in support of schisms which 
the apostle, classing among the deepest sins, has assured us 
‘ shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven.’ And I am not 
very well assured, therefore, that a Bible will be of much 
real advantage to her, but I think it may not be amiss that 


12 


CLERIC\ C7F/C, 


you may put in her power to try; as I am satisfied on 
the other hand, that having the Bible will not be to her 
prejudice. 

“ With every kind and good wish, 

“ I am, dear sir, respectfully yours, 

“Will. Leslie.” 

“Bailie John Russel, 

“ Merchd. of Elgin, Treasurer of the Bible Society.” 

Poverty and the parishioners of Lhanbryde, were close 
companions. The pastor was frequently required to recom¬ 
mend urgent cases to the charity of his more opulent neigh¬ 
bours. Each certificate bore the impress of his peculiar 
idiosyncrasy. The following is sufficiently amusing : 

“ Lhanbryde Glebe, 

“ March 12, 1829. 

“To all whom this does not concern, it is certified that 
the bearer, Ann Forbes, the widow of Jock Laing, of no 
small consideration in his day, for the gratification of the 
fair by his fiddle, and subduer of stots in the plough by 
his strong and harmonious whistle, that he left his wife in 
poverty, and that she has applied for this as a license to 
beg, by which it is trusted that she may have use and wont 
success in this occupation, ‘ and a begging she will go.’ ” 

“ In respect, 


“Will. Leslie.” 


AND RURAL ANECDOTES. 


13 


In drollery it would be difficult to exceed what follows: 

“To all those of His Majesty’s loving subjects only who 
can sympathise with a transgressor of His Majesty’s 
laws, under the impression that, though it was illegal, it 
was honestly innocent. 

“I hereby certify, that William Rainey, the bearer, a simple, 
honest, and laborious day labourer, in the back settlements 
of the improved Moss of Braemuckity, was, in the bygone 
harvest, subjected to the fine of twenty sovereigns and 
twenty shillings, for the illicit distillation of ten shillings 
worth of ill-made malt, under the corporal punishment of 
the jail for half a-year ; which punishment, that the country 
might not be punished by the loss of his highly useful labour 
in securing the crop, the bench reprieved for three months, 
in which space, with the price of the cow—dear to him as the 
poor man’s ewe lamb of old—which a better king than our 
most gracious sovereign roasted for his supper—the trans¬ 
gressor managed to pay a dozen of sovereigns, notwithstand¬ 
ing of which, he must still undergo the whole punishment of 
the half year’s incarceration, unless he can now succeed in 
eliciting the balance by the last resource— begging. In this 
regard he is recommended to those who have feeling hearts 
and half a sovereign in their purse. For the least moiety 
thereof he will be thankful now, and grateful all his life. 

“ Given by the minister of St Andrews, Lhanbryde, at my 
house in Elgin, the 24th of April 1826. 


“Will. Leslie.” 


14 


CLERIC ,, CIVIC, 


To a parishioner who had lost his cow, Mr Leslie granted 
a testimonial in these terms : 

“ Lhanbryde, 25th November 1827. 

“ To all to whom this may come, greeting. Believe ye 
that it is most assuredly true that the bearer, Alexander 
Grant, is in extreme poverty, and unable, by the utmost 
energy of the most praiseworthy industry, to procure the 
most indispensable necessaries of life meet for his wife and 
bairns. That he has a farm of three acres in the Moss of 
Braemuckity, at the rent of three pounds, and thereby has 
a miserable home, in which, however, they deemed them¬ 
selves happy, and were content with their lot, until a few 
days since, by an untoward mishap, they lost their whole 
live stock at once, being one only cow. Without the milk 
of her, the potatoes and salt scarcely keep their children in 
life, while their own good health is already on the wane. 
In this wretched condition the poor man has to go abroad 
among all the charitable and sympathising believers, who 
feel another’s woe, to beg pence and sixpences, and in some 
happy conditions even a shilling or more, to enable him, 
when added to the price of the hide of the defunct, to pro¬ 
cure a living cow, who may supply a little sauce for the 
potatoes. 

“ In respect, etc., 

“Will. Leslie.” 


AND RURAL ANECDOTES. 


15 


The following certificate contains ill-timed “ daffin’ ”— 

“ To all who have been taught another’s woe to feel, it is 
hereby certified that such certificates as these are with much 
reluctance sent forth, but the circumstances in this case are 
quite overpowering. The poor man, George Calder, in the 
new Landmoss of Braemuckity, in whose behalf, not himself, 
but his poor charitable neighbours, Alexander Scott, James 
Macdonald, Alexander Asher, and Robert Loggie, are the 
bearers, suffered the melancholy affliction in the bygone 
week of being deprived of his spouse, a young, comely, and 
well-behaved matron, by the same behest of a wise Provi¬ 
dence which deprived our empire of the lamented heiress of 
the throne.* That she languished for more than two months 
after the birth of her child, in which space her husband’s 
whole means of subsistence were so entirely consumed that, 
since the funeral, these neighbours have hitherto contributed 
for the preservation of his four motherless infants from sheer 
starvation. The eldest of them is not yet past the age at 
which the patriotic Dean of St Patrick’s proposed to have 
the children of the poor Irish roasted whole, like the pig, for 
the feast of the Dublin Alderman. 

“ And these four poor neighbours, suspending their own 
concernments, have requested this certificate for the kindly 
purpose of begging some temporary supply for the imme¬ 
diate support of the hired nurse and the infants, while their 
father, a discreet day labourer, shall now, by the return to 
* The Princess Charlotte of Wales. 


16 


cleric , civic ; 


his honest industry, which was suspended by his care indis¬ 
pensable of his dying spouse, be enabled to make requisite 
provision for their daily bread. 

“ In respect whereof, etc., 

“ At Lhanbryde Manse, this 14th of July 1828. 

“ Will. Leslie.” 

William Jack would probably not make much progress 
in his canvass, with no better recommendation than the 
following: 

“To all His Majesty’s loyal subjects who can feel for a 
fellow sinner in distress. 

“I beg to certify that the bearer, William Jack, is a son 
of my old bellman’s, a man well-known in this neighbour¬ 
hood for his honest poverty and his excessive indolence. 
The bearer, William Jack, has fallen heir to all his father’s 
poverty, and a double share of his improvidence. I cannot 
say that the bearer, William Jack, has many active virtues 
to boast of, but he has not been altogether unmindful of 
Scriptural injunctions, and has laboured, with no small 
success, to replenish the earth, although he has done but 
little to subdue the same. ’Twas his misfortune to lose a 
cow, by too little care and too much bere* chaff; likewise that 
walking skeleton, which he calls his horse, having ceased to 
hear the oppressor’s voice, or to dread the tyrant’s rod, 
now the poor man has nothing to look to, but the skins of 
* “ Bere,” a grain now little used. 


AND DURAL ANECDOTES. 


17 


the defunct, and the generosity of a benevolent public, by 
whom he hopes to be stimulated, through these testimonials, 
with receipt. “ William Leslie. 

“ Lhanbryde Glebe, 1829.” 

A clergyman having died, without leaving any near 
relatives, the Presbytery appointed a committee of their 
number to dispose of his papers. On examining the rever¬ 
end gentleman’s Diary, they found in it the following entry : 

“ Ate crappit-heads for supper last night, and was the waur 
o’t. See when I’ll do the like o’ that again ! ” Crappit- 
heads is a dish peculiar to the north of Scotland ; it con¬ 
sists of cod or haddock heads stuffed with oatmeal, onion, 
suet, and liver. 

Many humorous speeches have been assigned to the Rev. 
William Thom, minister of Govan. The following has often 
appeared incorrectly. Being present when the Rev. James 
Furlong was being ordained to the Chapel of Ease, North- 
Albion Street, Glasgow, in 1775, Mr Thom felt himself too , 
far off to join his brethren in the laying on of hands ; he 
put forward his walking-stick, and being reproached for 
his irreverence, he rejoined, “ timmer to timmer is gude 
eneuch.” 

Mr John Hunter, minister of Ayr (1701-1756), was most 
eccentric in his speeches. Speaking in the General As¬ 
sembly, in the case of Professor Simson, of Glasgow, he said, 

“ If one should call His Majesty, King George, a rogue and 

B 


18 


CLERIC , CIVIC , 


villain.” — Mr Hunter had so far proceeded with his 
hypothesis, when the Earl of Findlater, the Lord High Com¬ 
missioner, said, he would not sit to hear such expressions 
concerning the king. The speaker was reproved by the 
moderator. 

The Rev. Michael M‘Culloch, D.D., minister of Both- 
well (1767-1801), was a man of sterling independence and 
great self-decision. To his friend, Mr Thomas Brisbane, 
minister of Dunlop, he said, “You must write my epitaph if 
you survive me.” “ I will,” said Mr Brisbane, “ and you 
shall have it at once.” Next morning Dr M'Culloch received 
the following:— 

“ Here lies interred beneath this sod 
That sycophantish man of God, 

Who taught an easy way to heaven, 

Which to the rich was always given, 

If he get in, he’ll look and stare 
To find some out that he put there.” 

Mr William Bell, minister of Errol (1651-1665), be¬ 
queathed seven acres of land for maintaining a bursar at St 
Mary’s College, St Andrews. O11 his tombstone the fol¬ 
lowing lines have been engraved— 

“ Here, ceast and silent, lies sweet sounding Bell, 

Who unto sleeping souls rung many a knell, 

Death crackt this Bell, yet doth his pleasant chiming 
Remain with those who are their lamps a-trimming ; 

In spite of death, his word some praise still sounds 
In Christ’s church, and in heaven his joy abounds.” 


AND RURAL ANECDOTES. 


19 


The Rev. Dr William Taylor, minister of the Cathedral 
Church, and Principal of the University of Glasgow (1803- 
1823), was much esteemed for his ministerial fidelity. He 
devoted each Thursday exclusively to pulpit preparations. 
On that day, one week, a message was brought to his house 
to the effect, that the Duke of Buccleuch and Lord Bel- 
haven were desirous of seeing him at the Black Bull. 
The Principal’s man-servant was reluctant to disturb him; 
but as the courier strongly insisted on the delivery of his 
message, he did not feel justified in holding out. On 
receiving the message, Dr Taylor proceeded to wait on the 
two noblemen. Presenting himself in the hotel parlour, the 
Duke at once said, “ I have sent for you, sir, to take my 
measure for a pair of trousers \ my own have met with a 
slight accident, and I hope you can furnish me with a new 
pair by to-morrow morning.” “ My name is Taylor,” re¬ 
plied the Doctor; “ but I am not professionally a clothier, 
but Principal of the University, and one of the city clergy.” 
“ How awkward ! ” exclaimed the Duke. “ I sent for the 
principal tailor, and my blundering messenger has put you 
to the trouble of this visit. I hope, Principal, you will join 
us at dinner, and if I can do anything to compensate you 
for the loss of your valuable time, I’ll not be wanting.” The 
Principal remarked, that he was much concerned in the 
welfare of the city Infirmary, which was deeply in debt. 
“ Would ^500 be useful to the institution?” said the duke, 
writing a cheque for that amount, and handing it to his visitor. 


20 


CLERIC , CIVIC , 


The following is of recent occurrence. An aged gentle¬ 
woman, member of a city congregation in Edinburgh, in¬ 
formed her minister that, as a mark of her regard, she 
intended to bequeath to him her pet dog, Billy. “ I hope, 
madam,” said the pastor, “ that you will remember Billy’s 
board.” 

The person and feelings of a clergyman have, in every 
civilised country, been regarded with respect, while any 
attempt to injure the one or the other has been visited with 
reprehension. But the Church courts have not always left 
to magisterial punishment those who assailed the members 
of their body. Mr William Russell, minister of Kilbirnie, 
complained to the presbytery of Irvine that one of his 
parishioners had denounced his doctrine as “ dust and grey 
meal.” The presbytery ordained the delinquent to humble 
himself on his knees at the presbytery table, and thereafter 
to indicate repentance next Sunday on the stool in Kilbirnie 
kirk. Mr Luke Stirling, minister of Kilmaronock, had 
offended William Cunningham, brother of the Earl of Glen- 
cairn, who struck him with a cane. The presbytery of 
Glasgow decreed that the offender should “make public 
repentance on the pillar” in the parish churches of Kil¬ 
maronock, Dumbarton, Kilpatrick, Drymen, and Kilmal¬ 
colm, and that in each he should appear “ bairfuttit, bair- 
leggit, bairheidit,” and clothed “ in seckcloth.” 

Anecdotes of beadles and ministers’ men abound every¬ 
where. Those which follow are for the most part new. 


AND RURAL ANECDOTES. 


21 


Peter Drummond, beadle and minister’s man at St Mon- 
ance, Fifeshire, was one of the most amusing and eccentric 
of his class. The minister, Mr Gillies, had reproved Peter 
for giving a short day’s work, as he “ left off at sunset, while 
his neighbours were known to thrash their grain with candle 
light.” “Weel, sir,” said Peter, “gin ye want the corn 
flailed by cannil licht, I’ll dae yer wull.” Next day, at 
noon, Mr Gillies was passing the barn, and hearing the 
sound of Peter’s flail, he stepped in. A candle was burn¬ 
ing on the top of a grain measure. “ Why this folly and 
waste?” said Mr Gillies, pointing to the candle. “ Dinna 
ye mind, sir,” said Peter, “ that you wantit the corn thrashed 
wi’ cannil licht! ” The minister replied, angrily, “ Peter, 
you shall have no more candles.” Some days after, Mr 
Gillies was to set out on horseback to visit a sick parishioner. 
He requested Peter to saddle the horse. It was evening, 
and Peter, after remaining some time in the stable, led out 
the cow saddled and bridled. “ I wish I ha’ena made a 
mistak, sir,” said Peter; “ but since I’ve got nae cannil, it’s 
no muckle wonder that I hae pit the saddle on the wrang 
beast.” Fairly overcome by Peter’s drollery, Mr Gillies 
gave him back his candles. 

The minister’s man at Lintrathen, though sufficiently re¬ 
spectful, seldom indulges in the complimentary vein. On a 
recent occasion he handsomely acknowledged a compliment 
by returning another. The minister had got married, and 
was presented with a carriage, for which J ohn was appointed 


22 


CLERIC, CIVIC ; 


to provide a horse. Driving out with his wife, the minister 
said to John, in starting, “You’ve got us a capital horse.” 
“ Weel, sir,” said John, “ it’s just aboot as difficult to choose 
a gude minister’s horse as a gude minister’s wife, and we’ve 
been gie an’ lucky wi baith.” 

One of the shrewdest of parish beadles was Saunders 

Grant, village tailor at M-. “ How is it, Saunders,” 

inquired the minister, “that these two young neighbours of 
mine have their churches quite full, while, though I preach 
the same sermons that I did twenty years ago, my people are 
falling off?” “ Weel, sir, I’ll tell ye,” said Saunders ; “ it’s 
just wi’ you as wi’ mysel’. I sew just as weel as ever I did ; 

yet that puir elf-, has ta’en my business maist clean awa’. 

It’s no the sewing that’ll do, sir; it’s the new cut; it’s just 
the new cut!.” 

Beadles will occasionally trip. The beadle or “ man ” of 
the Rev. Alexander Moncreiff of Culfargie, first Secession 
minister at Abernethy, was fond of discussing points of 
doctrine. Returning, on horseback, with Mr Moncreiff from 
a church-service at a distance, when the intrusion of the 
world was the subject of prelection, John ventured to 
remark, that he thought the minister a little too emphatic in 
his assertion, that even at seasons of prayer “ the world 
wad stap in.” “Well, John,” said Mr Moncreiff, “ I’ll give 
you the horse you ride upon, if you’ll pray five minutes 
without a worldly thought.” “ Done,” said John, who forth¬ 
with asked the minister to ride on slowly while he “ prayed 




AND RURAL ANECDOTES. 


23 


a bit.” Mr Moncreiff consented, allowing John ample space 
for his devotions. After a space, John came up, exclaiming, 
“ Did you say, sir, that I was to have the bridle too.” “ I 
fear you thought about this upon your knees, John,” said 
the minister. John turned away his head, and was silent. 

The minister’s man at Kinross was a considerable reader, 
and had borrowed some of the minister’s botanical books. 
As the minister stepped one morning into his flower-garden, 
he found William busy in removing a favourite rhododen¬ 
dron. “ What are you about ?” angrily inquired the minister. 
Taking a hearty pinch, William deliberately responded— 
“ Sir, this rottendenthrun didna corroborate wi’ the rest o’ 
the shribbery; it was in an ower lucrative a sitivation; so 
I’ve translatit it ower here.” The jumble of ecclesiastical 
and horticultural phrases disarmed the minister, and saved 
the audacious speaker from an intended reproof. 

Great decorum is ordinarily preserved in Scottish places 
of worship. It must, however, be acknowledged that before 
the passing of Mr Forbes Mackenzie’s Act closing the public- 
houses on Sundays, disorderly scenes in church would occa¬ 
sionally happen. A case of interruption in church, most 
embarrassing to the officiating minister, has been communi¬ 
cated. During service, an intoxicated person entered a 
church in Kinross-shire. His gesticulations were sufficiently 
irksome, but the minister calmly proceeded with the service, 
till at length the intruder fell sick, and discharged the con¬ 
tents of his stomach. “ Put that nasty person to the door,” 


24 


CLERIC , C/F/C, 


exclaimed the minister, unable to suppress his indignation. 
The intruder, starting up, answered, “To the door, sir, I 
will gang; but, let me first tell ye, that siccan preach in’ as 
yours wud mak’ ony body spue.” 

A respected solicitor, in Edinburgh, lately mentioned the 
following:—Forty years ago he was worshipping in the 
parish church of Cupar-Angus. A tailor, who had fallen 
asleep during the earlier portion of the service, suddenly 
awakened at the close of the sermon, and, forgetting where 
he was, exclaimed, “ Say what ye like, but a’ body kens that 
it taks twa hanks o’ thread to mak’ a waistcoat.” The tailor, 
no doubt, fancied that he was repelling the attack of a 
customer. 

A Dissenting minister, in Dunfermline, was discoursing 
on the parable of the Ten Virgins. After descanting on the 
different portions of the parable, he commended for imita¬ 
tion the conduct of the wise virgins, whose lamps were, on 
the approach of the bridegroom, trimmed and burning. Of 
a sudden his oratory was interrupted by the exclamation, 
“ That’s a’ nonsense, for wha’ is there in a’ the wark that 
can trim a lamp like ‘ Dutchie ? ’ ” A sleeping miner had 
awakened up on hearing about lamp-trimming. 

Members of congregations are entitled to object to the 
settlement of ministers, provided they can substantiate any 
charge affecting their life or doctrine. Mr Davidson, 
presentee to Stenton in 1767 ; and Mr Edward Johnstone 
presentee to Moffat in 1743, were objected to for desecrating 


AND DODAZ ANECDOTES. 


25 


the Sabbath by shaving on that day. The settlement of 
Mr Johnstone was delayed four years; so persistent were 
the objectors in maintaining what they regarded as the 
proper observance of the Sabbath. Views of a more en¬ 
lightened character now happily prevail. 

The love of titles is a national weakness. The owner 
of even a few acres is styled Laird or Lord; so is every 
burgh magistrate, when presiding in his Court. The farmer 
assumes the name of his farm ; he expects to be saluted by 
it at the church-gate, in the market-place, and at the social 
gathering. Not the parochial schoolmaster only, but every 
village or way-side teacher, is the Dominie or Lord. The 
Presbyterian clergy have refused ecclesiastical titles, but are 
not unambitious of academical'honours. Nearly all the 
northern clergy are Master of Arts; and the degrees of 
Bachelor of Divinity and Doctor of Laws are much coveted. 
Few Scotsmen are content to submit to the mis-spelling of 
their names. On one occasion, indeed, a mis-spelt name 
was of essential service to its owner. Ronald Macdonald, 
the young chief of Clanronald, was attainted for having fol¬ 
lowed Prince Charles Edward in 1745, but the legal official 
who prepared the writ of attainder, described him as 
“ Donald.” The chief pled that the writ must apply to 
another, and the plea was accepted by the judges. 

Certain districts are remarkable for the spirit of adven¬ 
ture. Of these the most remarkable is the Isle of Skye.* 
* M‘Kerlies “ Scottish Regiments.” 


26 


CLERIC , 67F/C, 


Within forty years prior to 1837, that island, which is forty- 
five miles long and fifteen broad, produced twenty-one 
Lieutenant and Major Generals, forty-five Lieutenant- 
Colonels, six hundred Majors, Captains, and Subalterns, 
four Governors of Colonies, one Governor-General, one 
Chief Baron of England, and one Judge in the Court of 
Session. During the same period the island sent into the 
army ten thousand private soldiers. 

Among those Scotsmen who have risen to positions of 
trust, the name of Mr Heriot—not old George, but a pro¬ 
bable descendant of his house—is scarcely known. On the 
death of his Duchess, the Duke of Wellington requested 
the Marquis of Tweeddale to look out for a prudent Scots¬ 
man who might become his major domo or private secretary. 
Lord Tweeddale being somewhat reluctant to undertake the 
task, the Duke said to him, “Just select a man of sense and 
send him up ; I’ll take a look at him, and if I don’t think 
he’ll suit, I’ll pay his expenses and send him home.” 
Returning to Yester House, the Marquis sent for Mr Heriot, 
who rented one of his farms, and asked him whether he 
would undertake the proposed secretaryship. Mr Heriot 
consented to make a trial. Arriving at Apsley House, he 
was kindly received by the great Duke, who explained that, 
while all private business would terminate at one o’clock, 
the secretary would afterwards be required to entertain visi¬ 
tors. The latter duties seemed formidable ; but Mr Heriot 
did not seek an explanation. That evening the Duke gave 


AND RURAL ANECDOTES. 


27 


a dinner party. On the guests being ushered into the 
dining-room, the Duke said : “Mr Heriot, will you take the 
end of the table?” Embarrassing as was his position, the 
new major domo acquitted himself well, evincing on the 
various topics of conversation, especially on questions of the 
day, much correct information. Some members of the com¬ 
pany described him “ as an intelligent Scotsman,” which 
concurred with the Duke’s own sentiments. He was soon in 
entire possession of his grace’s confidence. 

Walking in the city one day, Mr Heriot met an old 
acquaintance from Scotland. “ Hollo ! Heriot,” said the 
friend, “what are you doing in London?” “I am private 
secretary to the Duke of Wellington,” answered Heriot. 
“ You be nothing of the sort,” said the Scotsman ; “ and I 
fear you’re doing little good, since you would impose upon 
me in this fashion.” Returning to Scotland, it occurred to 
Heriot’s acquaintance that he would write the Duke, warn¬ 
ing him that one Heriot “ had been passing himself off as his 
secretary.” From Apsley House he received a reply in these 
words : “ Sir, I am directed by the Duke of Wellington to 
acknowledge receipt of your letter; and I am, your obedient 
servant, J. Heriot, Private Secretary.” 

Some anecdotes of eccentric persons may be related : 
—Alexander, tenth duke of Hamilton, was devotedly 
attached to the fine arts. Among his more valuable ac¬ 
quisitions was a fine bust of the Emperor Vespasian- 
The duke placed this bust in a suitable niche in the grand 


28 


CLERIC ; CIVIC, 


staircase of Hamilton Palace. Whenever he returned to 
the palace, after an absence, he paid an early visit to the 
emperor’s bust, which he embraced, exclaiming “ My dear 
Vespasian! ” 

James, seventh Earl of Abercorn, was asked by his brother 
George, who was in orders, to use influence on his behalf for 
a living worth ^iooo per annum. The earl wrote in answer, 
“ Dear George, I never ask favours. Inclosed is a deed 
of annuity of £1000 a-year. Your affectionate brother, 
Abercorn.” 

Patrick, Lord Robertson, one of the Senators of the 
College of Justice, was a great humorist. He was on terms 
of intimacy with the late Mr Alexander Douglas, W.S., who, 
on account of the untidiness of his person, was known by 
the sobriquet of “ Dirty Douglas.” Lord Robertson in¬ 
vited his friend to accompany him to a ball. “ I would go,” 
said Mr Douglas, “ but I don’t care about my friends know¬ 
ing that I attend balls.” “ Why, Douglas,” replied the 
senator, “ put on a well-brushed coat and a clean shirt, and 
nobody will know you.” When at the bar, Robertson was 
frequently entrusted with cases by Mr Douglas. Handing 
his learned friend a fee in Scottish notes, Mr Douglas re¬ 
marked : “ These notes, Robertson, are, like myself, getting 
old.” “ Yes, they’re both old and dirty, Douglas,” re¬ 
joined Robertson. 

Dr Meikle, of Carnwath, on professionally visiting a 
gentleman who had been stung in the cheek by a wasp, 





AND RURAL ANECDOTES. 


29 


found him uttering oaths and execrations. “ The sting 
should have been in your tongue,’’ said the doctor. 

Among the MSS. of the Honourable Henry Erskine, in 
the Advocates Library, is the following epigram : 

“That prattling Cloe fibs, forsooth,” 

Demure and silent Cynthia cries, 

But falsely ; for can aught but truth 
Flow from a tongue that never lies ? 

The Scottish taste for determining trifling points of 
difference at the law courts has passed into a proverb. 
Last year the House of Lords was engaged in finally decid¬ 
ing the long-protracted case of Gray and Turnbull. The 
litigants were neighbours, and their dispute was in regard to 
the possession of a portion of land, eight feet square. After 
the litigation had run the course of the provincial and na¬ 
tional courts in Scotland, one of the parties appealed to the 
great judicature of the metropolis. The Lord Advocate was 
retained on the one side, and the Attorney-General on the 
other. Lords Chelmsford, Westbury, and Colonsay, pro¬ 
nounced judgment, and a case was terminated which in¬ 
volved several thousand pounds of costs, while the subject 
in dispute was not, in actual value, worth five shillings per 
annum ! 

The love of litigation occasionally becomes a mania. 
Take this illustration : Twenty-five years ago, two maiden 
sisters at Stirling conceived that they were aggrieved by 


30 


CLERIC ,, CIVIC , 


some parties unknown, and that they would obtain relief by 
applying through a solicitor, at the court of the provincial 
sheriff. They called on a respectable writer, who, of course, 
failed to understand a case which had no reality; but the 
sisters proceeded to the Sheriff-Court, in the hope that their 
case would “ come on.” Disappointment imparted energy 

i 

to hope, and week after week did the anxious sisters present 
themselves in the court-room, always tarrying till the close 
of the business. The sheriff at length ordered seats to be 
provided for them. On one occasion, a person of their 
family name was called in court, when the elder sister rose 
up, and said with composure, “ My Lord, our agent is Mr 

H-.” During five years did these intending litigants 

present themselves in the court-room every court day. One 
of the sisters now died, but her survivor, though ceasing to 
frequent the court, continued her concern in the imaginary 
suit. During the last twenty years she has periodically 
waited on her attorney to ascertain whether any progress 
has been made. 

Sir Alexander Boswell, Bart., of Auchinleck, son of 
Johnson’s Boswell, represented the county of Ayr in Parlia¬ 
ment. As a legislator, he was noted for having introduced 
and passed a single bill; it abolished the old Scottish 
statutes which provided that duelling, or the mere sending 
of a challenge, without any result, was punishable with 
death. Not long after his measure became law, he was 
challenged to a hostile meeting by James Stuart, younger 



AND RURAL ANECDOTES. 


31 


of Dunearn, on account of a poetical pasquinade he had 
published at that gentleman’s expense. The combat took 
place at Auchtertool, Fifeshire, in March 1822, when Sir 
Alexander fell mortally wounded. The survivor submitted 
himself to an assize, and was acquitted on the Act passed 
through the intervention of his antagonist! 

A work on Scottish sign-boards might prove of some 
interest. Thirty years ago the following inscription was 
attached to a public house at Morningside, Edinburgh : 

“ We hae a’ kinds o’ Whisky, frae Glenlivat sae clear, 

That ne’er gies a headache, to the five-bawbee gear ; 

We hae Gin, Rum, Shrub, and ither nicknackets, 

For them wham the clear stuff their brain set in rackets. 

We hae fine Yill frae Peebles, an’ Porter frae Lonnon, 
Ginger-beer frae the toon, and Sma’, brisk an’ foaming ; 

We hae Teas, Bread an’ Cheese, alias Welsh Rabbits ; 

Ham, Eggs, an’ Red Herrings for wairsh-tasted gabbets. 

If at ony time aught else should be wanted, 

We’ll raither send for’t than see freens disappointed.” 

An Edinburgh draper lately published a showy advertise¬ 
ment, announcing a “ Cheap Sale.” After setting forth the 
highly superior qualities of particular wares, it concluded 
thus: “Some only find out the merits of this department when 
it is too late. The lamentations at the door are protracted 
and heart-rending, when customers contrast the purchases 
they have made further up, with the quality and price of the 
goods now before them.” 


32 


CLERIC , C/F/C, 


The Scottish farmer, though generally shrewd, is not 
always so. A Kincardineshire husbandman, in expressing 
to his minister a favourable opinion of his personal virtues, 
concluded his eulogy in these words, “ An’ I especially like 
your sterling independence, sir. I have always said, sir, 
that ye neither feared God nor man.” 

Many of the substantial tenantry of the Lowlands are men 
of enlarged views, and well qualified to administer counsel 
to those whose educational advantages have not been 
tempered by experience. A farmer, the elder of a rural 
parish in Forfarshire, was suggesting to his lately appointed 
and youthful pastor how he should proceed in his parochial 
visitations. “To John,” he said, “speak on any subject 
save ploughin’ and sawin’; for J ohn is sure to remark your 
deficiency on these, which he personally understands ; and 
if he should detect that you dinna ken aboot ploughin’ and 
sawin’, he’ll no gie ye credit for understanding onything 
else.” 

A peculiar phraseology, which obtains among hill-farmers, 
will in certain circumstances provoke laughter. When the 

Rev. Mr C-was appointed to his parochial cure on the 

Braes of Angus, a hill farmer in the parish, was desirous of 
seeing him. After an interview with the reverend gentle¬ 
man, he said to a neighbour, “ I’ve just been seeing our new 
minister. He’s weel faured, and I maist think he’ll be weel 
likeit, but waes me, he’s been ill wintered.” The farmer 
meant that the pastor was, though good-looking and agree- 



AND RURAL ANECDOTES. 


33 


able, somewhat thin and delicate. Uneducated persons 
stumble into awkward speeches. A cottar woman in Lanark¬ 
shire stated to a neighbour that she had just had a visit 
from “ the machinery”—she meant the missionary. 

Mr Nicolson, advocate, one of the Educational Commis¬ 
sioners, was prosecuting his investigations in the Hebrides. 
Examining a class of young persons on the Shorter Cate¬ 
chism, he endeavoured to ascertain whether any ideas were 
associated with the words committed to memory. Putting 
the question—“ What was the sin whereby our first parents 
fell from the estate wherein they were created?” he ob¬ 
tained a ready answer in the words of the Catechism, 
“ eating the forbidden fruit.” Having changed the form 
of the question, he failed for a time to elicit any response, 
till at length a girl of fourteen said timidly “ Committing 
adultery, sir.” 

In most districts there is a system of terrifying children 

into obedience by stories of superstition. Bogles, witches, 

fairies, and hobgoblins, and even the minister himself, are 

impressed on the youthful mind as objects of dread. Mr 

H-, a clergyman in Forfarshire, was visiting a cottar 

family in a sequestered portion of his parish. A girl of five 

years screamed most vociferously as Mr H-approached 

the cottage, nor would any gentle expedient induce her to 

be silent. Mr H-began to express regret that the child 

should have been led to regard the minister with alarm. 

“ Hout, na,” said the mother, “ that’s no the reason ava’; 

c 





34 


CLERIC , CIVIC , 


it’s no that she kens ye’re the minister, but she thinks 
ye’re come to stick the soo.” The butcher had been 
expected! 


1 


A remarkable illustration of infant precocity we received 


lately. The daughter of an Edinburgh minister, not three 
years old, was instructed by her mamma, in the names and 
peculiarities of Scriptural characters. She had been told 
about Mephibosheth and his lameness, but the lesson passed 
without exciting any apparent interest. Next day a clergy¬ 
man from the country chanced to call, and finding the little 
girl in the apartment, made a fashion of pursuing her. 
“You can easily out-run me,” he said, “for I’m lame.” 
“’Bosheth ! ’Bosheth!” shouted the pert little creature, as 
she scampered out of the room. 

Scottish youth soon discover any marked peculiarity in 
their seniors. Three reverend gentlemen, bearing the same 
patronymic, ministered in the same town. They belonged 
to different denominations, but it w r as difficult readily to 
distinguish in conversation which was meant. The young 
folks were at no loss : to them one was “ Dirty D-,” a 




second “ Dainty D-and a third “ Dandy D- 




Three tenants on the estate of Laws bore the surname of 
Peter. They were known as “ Whisky Peter,” “ Ale Peter,” 
and “ Water Peter.” 

During the last century it was not uncommon to charac¬ 
terise in ingenious rhymes those persons who possessed a 
variety of dignities. Witness the following : 




AND RURAL ANECDOTES. 


35 


“ Sir Aulay Macaulay, 

Laird o’ Cairndhu; 

Provost o’ Dumbarton, 

And Bailie o’ the Row.” 

Sir James Strachan, minister of Keith, in Banffshire, was 
celebrated in these lines : 

‘‘ The beltit knicht o’ Thornton, 

An’ laird o’ Pittendriech ; 

An’ Maister Janies Strachan, 

The minister o’ Keith ! ” 

Mr John Anderson, minister of Fochabers, had a turn for 
business, and was accordingly appointed by the Duke of 
Gordon his local factor and a county magistrate. His 
pluralities were thus rhymed upon : 

“The Rev. John Anderson, 

Factor to his Grace, 

Minister of Fochabers, 

And Justice of the Peace.” 

Thirty years ago there were two distinguished students at 
St Andrews, who each bore the name of John Anderson. 
Their comrades indicated their individuality by styling one 
the Intellectual and the other the Profound. 

A sergeant of the Regiment of the Isles, in whose com¬ 
pany were four persons of the name of Donald Macdonald, 
took a different method of distinguishing them. When he 
called his muster-roll he trusted to accent alone. Thus 
Tcwald Mactonald; Tonald Mactonald, with a drawl; 


36 


CLERIC , CIVIC, 


Tonald Mactonald, with an increased drawl; and Tonald 
Mactonald, with a prolonged nasal sound, peculiar to the 
Hebrides. 

“ How is the Rev. M. A. sure to be happy ?” said a smart 
youth, when his minister, who was of very short stature, had 
wedded a tall and prosperous widow. “ Because,” he 
added, “ he’s the widow's mite." 

During the Voluntary controversy, Dr John Ritchie, of 
the Potterrow Church, Edinburgh, was one of the foremost 
champions on the Voluntary side. At a public meeting 
held in Dundee, the reverend gentleman was descanting on 
the misrepresentations to which his opponents had subjected 
him. “ They have,” he said “ called me everything but a 
gentleman, everything but a minister; nay, they have com¬ 
pared me to the devil himself. Now,” he proceeded, com¬ 
ing forward to the front of the platform and exhibiting a 
well-shaped limb, “ I ask if you see any cloven foot there? ” 
“ Tak aff ye’re shae” (shoe) vociferated a youth from the 
gallery. The oratory was spoiled. 

A Dunfermline youth, recovering from sickness, solicited 
help from an aged landowner of miserly habits. Meeting 
with a rough refusal, he said, “ Ye’re no vera young, an’ ye 
canna carry ony o’ ye’re gowd awa wi’ ye ; though ye cud, 
it wad be meltit in five minutes !” 

The independence of the Scottish yeoman has been fre¬ 
quently illustrated. “Where are you going, Milton?” said 
the late Mr Lyell of Kinnordy, to an aged crofter in his 


AND RURAL ANECDOTES . 


37 


neighbourhood, whom -he met upon the turnpike. “ I’m 
gaein’, sir, to Fotheringham to pay my rent.” “A long dis¬ 
tance, Milton,” said Mr Lyell. “ It is a pity I did not pur¬ 
chase your farm when it was in the market as then you 
had not needed to walk so far on rent day.” “ ’Deed, 
Maister Lyell,” said the sturdy old crofter, “ I had rather 
travel twenty miles twice a year to pay my rent, than tak 
aff my bannet to my laird ilka day.” 

Scottish females, even in humblest station, will indicate 
independence, and administer reproof in no ineffective 

fashion. The Countess of A--, with a laudable desire 

to promote tidiness in the different cottages on her estate, 
used to visit them periodically, and exhort the inmates to 
cleanliness. One cottage was always found especially un¬ 
tidy, and the Countess at length took up a broom, and 
having by its use made an improvement, said to the house¬ 
wife, “Now, my good woman, is not this much better?” 
“ O ay, my leddy,” said the matron ; “ an’ wull ye tak’ a 
blast noo?” The irate housewife meant, that as the 
Countess had stooped to sweep the cottage, she might 
also smoke a pipe with its mistress ! 

The Rev. William Coupar, Presbyterian minister at Perth, 
attained considerable popularity among his people, who 
were proportionately disappointed when he accepted the 
Bishopric of Galloway. In his official residence in the 
Canongate of Edinburgh, he was visited by an old woman 
from Perth, who had been much attached to his ministra- 



38 


CLERIC , CIVIC, 


tions. She was ushered into his parlour, where the new 
fledged bishop was seated in his Episcopal vestments. It 
was dusk, and the bishop had two candles burning before 
him. “ So you have left the glide cause,” said his visitor. 
“ I have got new light, Janet,” said his lordship. “ May 
be,” returned Janet, “ for when you were in Perth, you were 
content wi’ ae cannel, and noo ye burn twa ! And that’s 
ye’re new licht! ” 

Janet Halliday was much distressed when she heard that 
her parish minister, the Rev. George Barclay, was to re¬ 
move from Hutton to the charge at Haddington. Meeting 
him one day, she said, “ O Maister Barclay, what for are ye 
to leave the folks o’ Hutton, wha wad sae fain keep ye ? ” 
“ I am obeying a call of Providence,” said Mr Barclay. 
“ Aweel, aweel! ” said Janet, “ and Providence is unco 
kind to ye a’, for He never ca’s ye to a waur stipend !” 

A geologist, more celebrated for his science than for his 
religious orthodoxy, was chipping rocks one Sunday morning 
at Dura Den. A cottage matron came up and asked him 
what he was doing. “ Don’t you,” said the geologist, “ see 
that I am breaking and examining these stones ? ” “ You’re 
doin’ mair,” said the woman—“you’re breaking the Sab- 
bath.” The reproof was crushing. 

A rebuke, without intelligence, was administered by a 
hind’s wife at Crail to the late estimable Dr Andrew Bell, 
minister of the parish. Mr Bell was setting out for a drive 
with an invalid daughter, when a labourer called to seek 


AND RURAL ANECDOTES. 


39 


baptism for his child. Mr Bell promised that he would call 
on an early day to converse with him about the ordinance. 
He did so, and was met by the labourer’s wife, who accosted 
him thus : “ The bairn’s bapteezed by the bishop, and ye 
did vera ill to refuse baptism to my man; for if he hadna 
been a learnit man, Lord Kellie wadna hae employed him 
to brak’ stanes.” 




A COUNTRY MINISTER AND HIS 
RECOLLECTIONS. 



Y father, the Rev. James Roger, minister of Dunino, 
Fifeshire (1805-1849), was an eminent classical 
and general scholar. Born on the 24th June 
1767, at Coupar Grange, Perthshire, an estate of which his 
ancestors were co-proprietors, he was dedicated to the 
altar by his father, a pious elder of the Church. In his 
fourteenth year he entered the University of St Andrews, 
having gained by competition a bursary or exhibition, which 
secured his education and maintenance for four sessions. 
At the close of his first session, he obtained a premium 
awarded by the Earl of Kinnoull, Chancellor of the Uni¬ 
versity, to the student who had made the greatest progress 
in his classical studies. During the latter years of his 
theological course, he attended Marischal College, Aber¬ 
deen. In 1791 he was licensed to preach by the Presbytery 













RECOLLECTIONS. 


41 


of Dundee. Soon afterwards he was introduced to the 
celebrated Mr George Dempster of Dunnichen, and, on his 
recommendation, was appointed to prepare an Agricultural 
Survey of Forfarshire for the Board of Agriculture. In 
1796, he published an essay on the principles of Govern¬ 
ment, intended to correct popular notions as to the bene¬ 
ficial consequences of the French Revolution. In the same 
year he was awarded a gold medal by the Highland Society, 
for an essay on the best method of improving the Highlands. 

My father now contemplated an extensive work on the 
rise and progress of Agriculture, but he afterwards aban¬ 
doned the intention from lack of encouragement. He next 
made trial of literary life in London, but lost heart and 
returned to Scotland. In 1805 he was ordained to the 
ministerial office at Dunino, where, in the hope of obtaining 
academical preferment, which had been the lot of his three 

immediate predecessors, he devoted himself to studies of a 

•* 

more recondite and philosophical character. In 1816 he 
was a candidate for the Professorship of Moral Philosophy 
at St Andrews. He continued to prosecute his classical 
and philosophical studies with unabated ardour. Until his 
82d year he read daily in the Latin and Greek classics, and 
in Hebrew literature. His conversational powers were of 
the first order, and his information was almost encyclopedic. 
After a period of feeble health he died on the 23d Novem¬ 
ber 1849, at the age of eighty-three. A few days after his 
decease he was thus described by an able journalist: 


42 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


“ With the excellent natural abilities which he possessed, 
cultivated by study, the fruits of which a memory of great 
tenacity enabled him to have always at his command, and 
with a varied and extensive acquaintance with the real living 
world, Mr Roger was to those who had the happiness of 
being acquainted with him only in his latter years, an ac¬ 
quaintance at once delightful and instructive to a degree 
which cannot well be described. He had acted as a re¬ 
porter in the House of Commons, at the time when its 
deliberations were influenced by the heavings of those ter¬ 
rible convulsions which afterwards overthrew the thrones of 
Europe, and in every country, except Britain, threw back 
for more than a century the cause of rational and solid 
liberty. Mr Roger had noted the speeches of Pitt and 
Fox, and of a host of able, though lesser men. Others 
might have had his opportunities of listening to these great 
men who might not have felt the influence or retained the 
memory of their presence, or been able to make an after 
generation the wiser of their experience ; but Mr Roger 
was just the man whose vivid and picturesque descriptions 
in conversation faithfully conveyed to others the scenes 
which he had himself witnessed, and he could raise up be¬ 
fore his hearers the whole figure of Charles Fox, with his 
blue coat and yellow waistcoat, opening his manly and 
simple addresses with a downcast look and an unanimated, 
heavy air, and gradually getting more and more carried 
away by the strength of his feelings, till his voice was 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


43 


elevated beyond the pitch to which a calm attention to 
gracefulness would have confined it, but never elevated so 
as to lose its power of impressing and ruling the hearts of 
the Senate.” 

\ 

Of my father’s recollections, the first portion is presented 
in his own words. 

“In November 1781, I was introduced to the Latin and 
Greek professors at St Andrews, by my relative, Mr John 
Playfair, minister of Liff. This ingenious man, who after¬ 
wards obtained European fame as Professor Playfair of 
Edinburgh, was already in high repute for his scientific 
attainments. In 1772, while only twenty-four, he contested 
the Chair of Natural Philosophy at St Andrews, and lost 
the appointment only through an excess of local influence 
on behalf of a competitor. Soon after, he succeeded his 
father in the church living of Liff, but he was still prosecut¬ 
ing his peculiar studies, being more ardent about success 
in the academy than in the Church. In after life we did 
not meet; but I remember him as one venerated for his 
learning, and whose unaffected kindly manners caused me 
to regard him with affection. At the period to which I 
refer, the professor was in his thirty-third year. Though 
he had been patriarchal, he could not have administered 
more fatherly counsel or warned me more emphatically 
against the snares which beset the inexperienced. ‘ Write 
often/ he said, ‘to your father and mother. Never indulge 
in play till you have finished your tasks, and select only a 


44 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


few companions. Rise early, and revise your morning 
lesson before leaving your apartment. Keep your room 
in the evenings, unless on the appointed holidays.’ 

“When I entered St Andrews University, I found that 
the visit of Dr Samuel Johnson to that ancient seat of 
learning was still a theme of conversation, though seven 
years had passed since the English sage walked under the 
porch of St Salvator. There was a difference of opinion 
about Johnson—one section of the gownsmen ‘ sidmg] as 
they expressed it, with the professors, whose learning the 
English lexicographer had ventured to impugn. At the 
banquet to which the professors invited him, Johnson ex¬ 
pressed surprise that grace should have been said in 
English rather than in Latin, and when the key of the 
library was missing, he spoke of a library of which the 
key could never be found. Several of the older students 
remembered Johnson’s visit, and described the awe which 
he had inspired. 

“John Campbell, a Highland student, was bold enough 
to lampoon the sage, and even to throw ridicule upon his 
dictionary. ‘ What is a window?’ propounded the facetious 
querist. Johnson was supposed to reply, ‘A window, sir, 
is an orifice cut out of an edifice for the introduction of 
illumination.’ ‘ And how should one ask a friend to snuff 
the candle ? ’ ‘ Sir, you ought to say, deprive that luminary 
of its superfluous eminence.’ At St Andrews, Johnson in¬ 
dulged to the full in his combativeness of talk, and the pro- 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


45 


fessors, while unwilling to speak harshly of one so noted, 
remembered his visit with distaste. 

“ St Andrews, with its three colleges, had dwindled into 
a state bordering on decay. The modern tenements were 
built of timber, and the older houses were in ruins. The 
streets, meanly paved, yielded a crop of grass, which was 
mowed by sheep; while less frequented thoroughfares had 
crossings of boulders, by means of which pedestrians could 
in wet weather avoid stepping into pools of mud. In the 
heart of the city a street was named the Foil Waste , and 
the name was appropriate; it was the receptacle of abomi¬ 
nation of every sort, and constantly emitted a loathsome 
smell. The Cathedral buildings were unenclosed; from the 
ruins, builders took stones to rear private dwellings, and 
the citizens adapted the surrounding burial ground for every 
purpose of convenience. The three colleges were greatly 
dilapidated. St Leonard’s Halls were the repositories of 
farm produce and winter fodder. The Common Hall of 
St Salvator’s College was a dreary vault, with cobwebbed 
roof and damp earthen floor. The lecture rooms were 
small, dingy, and ill ventilated. In St Mary’s College, one 
room, dark and dismal, served for the prelections of the 
four Professors of Theology. The foundation bursars re¬ 
sided in a wing of St Salvator’s College; they were lodged, 
maintained, and taught at the expense of the institution. 
The entertainment provided was limited in extent, and in 
quality most wretched. For breakfast we received half an 


46 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


oaten loaf, with half a chopin of beer; the latter was 
brewed on the premises, and could not have been of worse 
quality. Dinner was at three o’clock served in the Common 
Hall. Broth and beef constituted the fare four days weekly. 
A professor presided; he tasted the broth, and looked on 
as we ate the coarse flesh with which it was prepared. 
Thrice a week we dined on fish or eggs. Tea and coffee 
were unknown. Our evening meal consisted of a twopenny 
loaf, with a jug of the college beer. Each bursar’s apart¬ 
ment was eight feet square. The bedsteads were timber 
tressels, and the bedsteads were rough and hard. Each 
room had a fireplace, but as smoky chimneys were the rule, 
we seldom used fire, except when extremity of cold ren¬ 
dered smoke with a little heat more tolerable than starva¬ 
tion. Each bursar provided and kept clean his knife and 
fork ; but the professors, in consideration of deducting from 
our bursaries sixteen shillings and eightpence, gave us the 
use of silver spoons. 

“Thirteen years before my entering the United College, 
Robert Fergusson, the poet, occupied the same chamber in 
St Salvator’s which was assigned to myself. Many of his 
rhymes, inscribed on the walls, were still legible. There was 
a tradition that, by means of a poetical pasquinade, not very 
reverently introduced, Fergusson achieved considerable re¬ 
form at the college table. Each bursar said grace by turns. 
It was Fergusson’s turn. He rose up and expressed him¬ 
self as follows: 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


47 


“For rabbits young and for rabbits old, 

For rabbits hot and for rabbits cold, 

For rabbits tender and for rabbits tough, 

L—d, we thank thee, for we’ve had enough. 

Hitherto rabbits from a warren in the neighbourhood con¬ 
stituted the chief fare, and though complaints were often 
made, none proved effective. The present stroke was 
irresistible. The professors dreaded to inflict censure on 
the graceless poet, who might, if reproved for his present 
rhymes, inflict others even more wanton. The rabbits dis¬ 
appeared. 

Among the more erudite Professors in the United College, 
were Dr John Hunter of the Latin, and Dr George Hill of 
the Greek chair. As the accomplished editor of the Latin 
classics, Dr Hunter became celebrated. Already he en¬ 
joyed high reputation as a teacher.* He composed Latin 
elegantly, and as the business of the class was conducted in 
the Roman tongue, we found that he always expressed 
himself well and neatly. But he wrote English with less 
skill. Imitating in some measure the Johnsonian formality, 
but deficient in fancy, his English composition was ponder¬ 
ous and uninteresting. This is apparent in his “Treatise 
on Conjunctions,”! and in the article “Grammar,” which 

* Dr John Hunter, was born in the parish of Closeburn, Dum¬ 
friesshire, in September 1746. He died at St Andrews on the 18th 
January 1837, in his 91st year. The year before his death he was 
advanced to the Principalship of the United College. 

+ Edinburgh Philosophical Transactions, 1788. 


48 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


he contributed to the seventh edition of the ‘ Encyclopedia 
Britannica.’ 

“ If biography is intended to stimulate to industry and 
virtue, it is to be regretted that a life of John Hunter has 
not been written. Man of genius he was not; there was no 
poetry in his nature, and he had little aptitude for business. 
He did not excel in conversation, and in matters of science 
he was very partially informed. But he had the sagacity to 
know his forte , and to keep by it. At the Free School of 
Wallace Hall he evinced a remarkable promptitude in 
mastering the details of Latin grammar, while he excelled 
all his class-fellows in discovering the true meaning of the 
classic writers. His father was a poor operative, and as all 
scholastic appointments were then made through private 
influence, it seemed doubtful whether the young scholar of 
Wallace Hall might ever attain a post beyond that of a 
country schoolmaster. He left school while still young, and 
proceeding to Edinburgh, became clerk in a merchant’s 
office. Recommending himself to his employer, he obtained 
permission to attend the Latin and Greek classes in the 
University. His attainments as a Latin scholar were as 
marked at college as they had previously been in the 
academy, and when Lord Monboddo applied to the Pro¬ 
fessor of Latin for a clerk who could read Virgil, Hunter 
was named at once. Acceptance was matter of course, and 
the learned judge was delighted with his clerkly acquisition. 
Hunter was silent when his patron spoke about the origin of 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


49 


mankind, but when he talked about the classics, the clerk 
proved equal to the judge. Monboddo began to defer to 
his amanuensis respecting the meaning of Latin phrases, and 
at his table introduced him to those who could appreciate 
his scholarship. In 1775 a vacancy occurred in the 
Humanity Chair at St Andrews. To the patron, General 
Scott of Balcomie, Monboddo strongly recommended his 
protegA The story went, that the General, on receiving the 
recommendation, went to Monboddo’s house, and desired to 
have an interview with his friend. On his presenting him¬ 
self, the General drew from his pocket a copy of Horace, and 
asked him to read. Hunter read an ode, and gave a free 
and intelligent translation. The General put a few questions 
which were answered clearly and correctly. ‘ Now,’ said 
the General, closing the book, * I give you the Professor¬ 
ship, not because you are Lord Monboddo’s friend, but for 
your personal merits.’ 

“ Advanced from the clerk’s stool to the Professor’s chair, 
John Hunter never forgot whence he had risen, and never 
permitted his attention to be diverted from the earnest 
pursuit of those studies of which the early prosecution had 
led to his elevation. He formed a critical acquaintance 
with the best Latin authors, and his editions of the classics, 
prepared as they were with extraordinary care, retain an 
honourable place. 

“ My Greek Professor, Dr George Hill, afterwards attained 
great eminence in the Church. With the Greek Professor- 

D 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


50 

ship he held the second ministerial charge of the city, and 
his pulpit duties were discharged with the same power which 
characterised his academic teaching. His habits were 
singularly industrious; he rose at four and prepared for his 
class till seven, when he took breakfast. No portion of his 
time was lost. He was eminently courteous. By his agree¬ 
able manner he charmed all with whom he came in contact. 
He had the art of pleasing. ‘ Laugh, laugh,’ said he, to his 
little daughter, as a blockhead at his table was relating some 
silly anecdote at which he himself laughed vociferously. 

‘ What a becoming hat,’ he said to the Rev. Thomas Iv-, 

whose intellectual qualities did not admit of even a qualified 
laudation. None could easier turn away an angry word 
spoken in debate. In the General Assembly he had en¬ 
countered a fearful onslaught from the Rev. James Burn, 
minister of Forgan. When Mr Burn concluded, he said 
with a smile, 1 Moderator, we all know that it is most natural 
that Burns should run down Hills' The laugh was effectually 
raised against his reverend opponent. It was in the General 
Assembly that his oratory was chiefly displayed. He suc¬ 
ceeded Principal Robertson as leader of the moderate 
party, and by his even temper, eminent tact, and enticing 
eloquence, he maintained his position to the close. He 
died in 1819 in his seventieth year, after attaining nearly 
every honour which a minister of the Scottish Church 
could enjoy. His Theological Institutes published post¬ 
humously, are a monument of his learning and industry. 



AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


51 


The work has been used as a text-book, in various theo¬ 
logical seminaries. 

“ In St Mary’s College, the chair of Church History was 
occupied by the Rev. William Brown, a man of considerable 
scholarship, strong will, and some odd ways. He composed 
his lectures in Latin; and during the first two weeks of the 
session his prelections were entitled: Res Gestce ante mun- 
dnm conditum. As he did not pretend any acquaintance 
with geology, which, indeed, had scarcely taken its place 
among the sciences, his introductory lectures were not very 
interesting. As he did not examine, few cared to listen, 
and the business of the class passed on without any work 
being done. A curious history attended Mr Brown’s 
appointment to the Church History chair. After the battle 
of Prestonpans, several officers of the royal army were 
carried off by the victorious rebels and subjected to im¬ 
prisonment at the village of Glammis. Along with some 
followers, Mr William Brown, then a theological student, 
rode from Dundee to Glammis, and by overcoming the de¬ 
taining party, rescued the prisoners. Mr Brown’s gallantry 
was reported to the Duke of Cumberland, who promised to 
befriend him. Soon after Mr Brown obtained license, and 
was promoted to the church living of Cortachy. In this 
charge he had not been long settled, when a rumour spread 
to his disadvantage. He was accused of seduction. The 
Presbytery of Forfar were unwilling to prosecute one who 
had so lately distinguished himself in the royal cause, and 


52 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


Mr Brown was disinclined to undergo a trial, when, as 
he alleged, so many of his people being lately in rebel¬ 
lion, were disposed to testify against him falsely. He 
resigned his charge, and, through the influence of the 
Duke of Cumberland, was appointed minister of the English 
congregation at Utrecht. Through the same channel of 
influence, he was appointed to his professorship. He re¬ 
ceived his commission in 1757, but did not obtain installa¬ 
tion for some time afterwards; his nomination, on account 
of the old Forfarshire rumours, being resisted both by the 
University and the Presbytery. But his cause was warmly 
supported by Government, and the General Assembly 
at length ordered his induction. He was somewhat hos¬ 
pitable, and when he invited his students to his house, 
delighted to show them the brace of pistols with which he 
had encountered the Highlanders at Glammis. Professor 
Brown has, perhaps, his best claim to remembrance as the 
father of a distinguished son. 

“That son was William Laurence Brown, D.D., Prin¬ 
cipal of Marischal College, Aberdeen, whom, at a sub¬ 
sequent period, I knew intimately. Principal Brown was 
an able and accomplished man, but could not be com¬ 
mended for his bonhommie. He was always on the attack— 
always disposed to run down some one. He monopolised 
conversation, and lost his temper if the monopoly was 
interfered with. Sarcasm was his forte, and it was cruelly 
indulged towards those against whom he had conceived an 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


53 


aversion. Principal Hill had expressed to Lord Melville 
an opinion that he was not sufficiently prudent to dis¬ 
charge wisely the duties of the Principalship of Marischal 
College, and unhappily this opinion was brought to his 
notice. Henceforth he pursued Dr Hill with a relentless 
vengeance. He ridiculed him in society, denounced him 
in the General Assembly, and published ‘ Philemon,’ a 
poem in two volumes, in which, under the name of Vul- 
pellus , he sought to exhibit him to the world as a monster 
of treachery. Principal Brown died in 1830. He had, I 
believe, long previously abandoned that severity of expres¬ 
sion and sentiment which, in former years, disfigured a 
career otherwise adorned.” 

At Aberdeen my father studied under Dr George Camp¬ 
bell, and Dr Alexander Gerard, author of the “ Pastoral 
Care.” He remembered Dr Gerard as a venerable gentle¬ 
man, without much animation, and with only a moderate 
share of originality. On the merits of Dr George Camp¬ 
bell he delighted to expatiate. He spoke of the excellence 
of his lectures, and of the vigour and dignity with which 
they were expressed. At the Principal’s table he was an 
occasional guest, and he was much struck by the delightful 
frankness which the distinguished host extended to every 
member of the company. His conversation was sprinkled 
with a humour peculiarly his own. “We have got,” said 
a visitor, “ nearly all sects and denominations represented 
in Aberdeen; but it is singular there are no Jews!” 


54 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


“No;” said the Principal, “we’re owre far north for them 
here.” There was a decided point in the story, for Aber¬ 
donian traders were supposed in their dealings to exercise 
a tenacity of gain scarcely to be rivalled. 

There was an anecdote of the Principal and the Con¬ 
vener of the Trades, a hairdresser, who affected superior 
shrewdness, and an ample acquaintance with local' history. 
As the Convener was one day prosecuting his craft, the 
Principal asked him, “ Do you remember, sir, when Pontius 
Pilate was provost o’ the Al’ton?” (Old Aberdeen.) “I 
canna say, Principal,” was the ready response, “ that I mind 
o’ him mysel’; but I’ve often heard my father say that he 
mindit him week” 

Dr Campbell was naturally indolent. Aware of her 
husband’s infirmity, Mrs Campbell made secure the door 
of his library. For some time he submitted to the practice 
with patience; but at length he fell upon a stratagem 
by which the vigilance of his helpmate was rendered 
useless. He concealed in his library a violin, with which 
he discoursed his favourite tunes to relieve the monotony 
of theological study. 

In the class of Dr James Beattie, author of “The 
Minstrel,” my father was not an enrolled student; but 
he was a frequent listener to his prelections. I cannot 
recall his sentiments respecting Dr Beattie’s professorial 
qualities, but he spoke emphatically in regard to the high 
estimation in which he was held as a poet. My father 


I 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


55 


related an anecdote in connection with his becoming ac¬ 
quainted, with Mr Francis Garden, afterwards Lord Garden- 
stone, a little more copious in detail than that supplied 
by Sir William Forbes in the Professor’s “ Memoirs.” 
Mr Garden was residing at Woodstock, in the parish of 
Fordoun, of which Beattie was schoolmaster. He had 
been told that the parish teacher was eccentric and sus¬ 
pected of lunacy. One day, walking in an unfrequented 
glen, he heard some one speaking aloud, and proceeding 
to the spot, found Beattie seated on a stone, writing, 
and repeating aloud what he had written. Mr Garden 
listened, and at once perceived that the schoolmaster was 
a man of genius. Introducing himself to the bard, an 
intimacy soon sprung up, when Mr Garden informed him 
that the country people thought him mad. “No wonder,” 
said Beattie, “for I’ve sometimes found myself walking all 
night in the glen, forgetful that I was compromising my¬ 
self.” And so he composed “ The Minstrel.” 

At Aberdeen my father boarded in the house of Mrs 
Dallas, the widow of an Episcopal clergyman, and cousin of 
Johnson’s Boswell. During their visit to Aberdeen, Bos¬ 
well and his illustrious fellow-traveller spent an evening 
in Mrs Dallas’s house. To my father, who was a profound 
admirer of the sage, Mrs Dallas related the principal inci¬ 
dents of the evening. She was not favourably impressed 
with Dr Johnson’s appearance, and his “bow-wow manner” 
she held as repulsive. Several of the professors had ac- 


56 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


cepted her invitation to meet her cousin and his friend, and 
the evening was spent in controversy. Dr Johnson seemed 
to cavil at everything, and his incessant utterance of “No,” 
rang in Mrs Dallas’s ears long after. “ But,” added Mrs 
Dallas, “ Mr Boswell would hear nothing to his dispraise.” 

In 1791 my father became ministerial assistant at Cor- 
tachy. Many of the older parishioners had, under Lord 
Ogilvie, been attached to the standard of Prince Charles 
Edward. These expatiated to my father on the sufferings 
to which they had been subjected after the disastrous battle 
of Culloden. None seemed to lament the fall of the Cheva¬ 
lier, whose cause they had espoused out of attachment to 
their young landlord, and from no personal conviction. 
Lord Ogilvie was long an exile in France; but having ob¬ 
tained a pardon, he was permitted to enjoy the family 
honours. As fifth Earl of Airlie, he resided in his ances¬ 
tral mansion of Cortachy Castle. He was a singular old 
man, dressed in the French fashion, and had many odd 
ways. He received a weekly newspaper, but after reading 
it, put it into the fire, that he might enjoy the satisfaction 
of retailing the news to his dependants. For this purpose 
he visited the servants’ hall every evening at eight o’clock, 
where, leaning against a large upright chest, he discoursed 
with his principal attendants on the political aspects of the 
times. They listened reverently; but all had seen the 
weekly journal before it had passed into his lordship’s 
hands. 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


57 


In 1793, my father was introduced to Sir John Sinclair, 
Bart., then in his zenith. With Sir John he enjoyed a little 
personal intercourse. He was much struck with his bustling 
character, and extraordinary appetite for work. Sir John’s 
vanity, my father said, was apparent on the slightest ac¬ 
quaintance with him. 

With Mr George Dempster of Dunnichen, my father 
about this time began an acquaintance, which continued 
with growing respect on both sides, for a quarter of a century. 
Hearing of my father’s literary tastes, Mr Dempster invited 
him to Dunnichen House, and the visit was, by his desire, 
speedily repeated. A steady friendship grew up, and the 
laird of Dunnichen rejoiced frequently to entertain a gentle¬ 
man whose stores of information were not inferior to his 
own.* 

On his retirement from Parliament in 1790, Mr Dempster 
began to devote his energies towards improving the natural 
resources of his country. He obtained an act for the pro¬ 
tection and encouragement of Scottish Fisheries. He 
advanced the interests of northern manufactures, but at 
length concentrated his exertions in the cause of husbandry. 
In its agricultural concerns, the county of Forfar, more 
especially in the upland districts, considerably lagged, and 
it was Mr Dempster’s ambition to imbue the tenantry of 

* In his Fasti Ecclesice Scoticance (Edinb., 1869, part iv. p. 424), 
Dr Hew Scott represents my father as amanuensis or secretary to Mr 
Dempster. This is an error ; my father did not have the honour of 
being so employed by his friend. 


58 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


his district, with a spirit of enterprise and emulation, which 
he hoped would ultimately subdue the mosses, and reclaim 
the waste lands. In this laudable object, he found a willing 
and experienced coadjutor in my father, who was familiar 
with the agricultural condition of every parish in the county, 
and had, by extensive reading, made himself acquainted with 
agriculture as a science. With my father’s assistance, Mr 
Dempster established the “ Lunan and Vinney Farming 
Society,” of which, at the first meeting, my father was elected 
honorary secretary. The society held yearly a festive 
entertainment at Dunnichen, and some eighty persons— 
landlords and tenants—were enrolled as members. On Mr 
Dempster’s death in 1818, meetings of the society were 
suspended, and the minute-book is now in the custody of 
the writer, as the secretary’s representative. The minutes 
abound in curious agricultural speculations, with extracts 
from the classic and eloquent speeches with which Mr 
Dempster, the ingenious president, delighted the assem¬ 
blages. 

An incident which occurred at one of these agricultural 
feasts may be related. Mr Dempster had one year offered 
an apology for drinking toast and water, by stating that he 
was an invalid. At the following meeting, one of his 
farmers followed his landlord’s example of abstinence. 
“Why,” said the president addressing him, “aren’t you 
taking your glass, James?” “ Excuse me, Maister Dempster,” 
said the farmer, “for I’m an infidel.” “ Ah,” rejoined Mr 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS . 


59 


Dempster, “ you differ from the old infidels who said, ‘ Let 
us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.’ ” 

Though for nearly thirty years a member of the House of 
Commons, and fond of conversation, Mr Dempster seldom 
alluded to his Parliamentary experiences. His sterling in¬ 
dependence had gained him the designation of “ Honest 
George,” but it was my father’s opinion that he regretted he 
had so long engaged in political concerns. He had achieved 
his entrance into Parliament as member for the Fife and 
Forfar burghs, by a course of bribery on an enormous scale. 
To obtain the means of defeating his opponent, he sold 
three estates. He sometimes alluded to these matters re¬ 
gretfully, and would speak of the impetuosity of his hot 
youth. He mentioned that a hairdresser in St Andrews had 
received from him five guineas as a recompense for shaving 
him. By the acceptance of this gratuity, he understood that 
he had secured the barber’s vote; but on resuming his can¬ 
vass, he heard that the honest hairdresser had been liberally 
recompensed for shaving his opponent. Meeting him one 
day he said, “ Why, Mr Bell, you have been shaving the 
opposition! I did not expect this.” “Troth,” said the 
barber, “ I just wantit to pleasure ye baith.” Calling at the 
house of another trader, he proceeded to ingratiate himself 
with his wife and daughter. On leaving, he made a fashion 
of kissing the honest matron, quietly placing five gold pieces 
in the hand which was modestly extended to protect her 
face. Contemplating her glittering prize, the delighted house- 


60 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


wife exclaimed : “ Kiss my dochter too, sir!” Mr Dempster 
delighted to relate the anecdote. 

Mr Dempster was well acquainted with Mr Macpherson 
of Ossianic celebrity. He sat with him in Parliament. 
He related to my father that it was believed that the 
parchments, which Becket, the London publisher, exhibited 
in his shop as the originals of Fingal and other poems, 
were Gaelic leases from the charter-chest of a Macleod 
of Skye. 

A London gentleman of fortune was visiting at Dun- 
nichen House. My father was also there on a visit. All 
were seated in the library one evening, when Mr Dempster 
said to his London friend, “ How is Woodfall ? ” Woodfall 
was the publisher of “Junius.” “Ah!” said the London 
visitor, “poor Woodfall is much reduced. Some of his old 
friends lately subscribed a small amount to help him; but 
he is still very poor, and at his advanced age his circum¬ 
stances are not likely to improve.” “ Indeed, indeed ! ” 
exclaimed Mr Dempster, “ I wish, for his sake, I had been 
rich ’ but will you add these as my contribution in aid of 
my old friend?” Mr Dempster handed a small bundle of 
Scottish notes to his visitor, and turned round to conceal 
his emotion. My father believed that Mr Dempster was in 
the secret as to the authorship of “Junius,” but he durst 
not venture to put questions on a theme so delicate. 

At Dunnichen my father met John Pinkerton, the 
antiquary. Pinkerton attended a meeting of the Farming 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


61 


Society, and took part in a discussion on florin grass. He 
is thus introduced in the minutes: “ Mr Pinkerton, the 
antiquary, had not bent much of his mind to modern things. 
He had only to state that Camden mentioned a field in the 
west of Scotland, which cut four times a year, and consisted 
of florin grass.” It was my father’s opinion that Pinkerton 
desired to be regarded as a universal genius. He spoke of 
being admitted to a library abroad solely from his reputa¬ 
tion. He was ready to debate on any subject, and in the 
assertion of his views was opinionative and dogged. Con¬ 
tradiction, even in the mildest form, he would not tolerate. 
He had been on a long visit to Dunnichen House, and had 
rendered himself obnoxious to the young people. Said a 
young miss of thirteen to Mr Dempster one morning, before 
the antiquary joined the breakfast-table, “Grandpapa, when 
is Mr Pinkerton going away ? ” “ Whisht, my dear,” said 

Mr Dempster with a smile. Pinkerton spent a large 
portion of his time in visits to county families and others, 
who were content to tolerate his peculiarities. He latterly 
resided in France, where he died in 1825, in circumstances 
of penury. 

Respecting the character of Mr Dempster, my father 
shared the opinion of his contemporaries. A stainless 
patriotism was his leading characteristic. Though latterly 
the reverse of opulent, he was liberal to his relatives, and 
benevolent to the poor. Latterly, he became frugal in his 
domestic arrangements from a delusion, incident to old age, 


62 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


that he was on the verge of poverty. He dismissed his 
valet, who had been in his employment for forty years. 
The disconsolate old man applied to my father to intercede 
for him. “It is unnecessary,” said my father ; “ return to 
your duties, and Mr Dempster will at once relent, if he has 
not already forgotten what has occurred.” The advice was 
followed, and the faithful valet remained till his kind master 
bade adieu to time resting in his arms. 

Mr Dempster died in February 1818, in his eighty-fourth 
year. Some time before his death, Mr Dempster was re¬ 
quested by my father to express his wishes in regard to a 

e y 

memoir. In answer, he wrote on the 9th June 1816, “You 
joke about the life of an individual to whom nothing but 
oblivion belongs: 

‘ Vixi, et quem clederat cursum 
Natura heregi.’” 

After his decease, no document likely to be useful to a 
biographer could be found in his repositories. The whole 
had been destroyed. 

Disappointed in obtaining ecclesiastical preferment, 
though more than one congregation had applied to “just 
and auncient patrons ” on his behalf, my father resolved to 
try a literary career in the metropolis. Provided with letters 
from Mr Dempster, and his relatives, Principal Playfair of 
St Andrews, and Professor Playfair of Edinburgh, in the 
autumn of 1802 he sailed for London. There he placed 
himself chiefly under the guidance of Mr William Playfair, 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


63 


brother of Professor Playfair, and well-known as an in¬ 
ventor and miscellaneous writer. By this gentleman my 
father was strongly dissuaded from remaining in the metro¬ 
polis. “As a newspaper reporter,” he said, “you might 
make a decent livelihood; but you are at the mercy of your 
employer, and an ebullition of temper on his part, or an 
ittack of illness on yours, might throw you helpless on 
:he world. Besides, you have influence in Scotland, which, 
sooner or later, must lead to your obtaining a living in 
the Presbyterian Kirk.” My father listened, and hastened 
tiome, leaving one letter of introduction undelivered. This 
>vas addressed by Mr Dempster to the Rev. William Thom¬ 
son, LL.D., formerly assistant minister at Monivaird, but 
'or many years a well-employed miscellaneous writer in the 
metropolis. Mr Dempster’s letter to Dr Thomson proceeds 
:hus: 

“Dunnichen, Forfar, 13th Sept. 1802. 

“ My Dear Sir, —I am glad to embrace this opportunity 
:>f enquiring how you are, and expressing my hopes that this 
k vill find you in health and prosperity. It serves to introduce 
:o you the Rev. Mr James Roger, who, by being assistant 
:o our parish clergyman, has gained the good opinion and 
good-will of all our parish, and no small share of mine 
among the rest. In your time, a Scotch kirk was no great 
Dbject, and at present an assistant is as poor an object as 
sver. He has therefore accepted some proposals for 
establishing himself in London. He will mention particu- 


64 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


lars to you himself. I know you have a heart that disposes 
you to acts of kindness to others. You are a successful 
veteran in the career that he is about to begin. 1 pray 
you let him avail himself of all your experiences, and if 
possible share in your laurels. I am persuaded that you 
will have satisfaction in his acquaintance, and find him 
grateful for your attention to him. He will tell you about 
me. Time has altered many parts of me, but has not abated 
a tittle of my liking and respect for you. Farewell. My 
Dear and Revd. Sir, 

“Yours, &c., 

“George Dempster.” 

A few sentences will express my father’s opinion of Mr 
William Playfair, whose stirring but not prosperous career is 
described in the Biographical Dictionaries. He was a 
laborious worker, but amidst a variety of accomplishments, 
was incapable of discovering where his chief strength lay. 
He was most patriotic, but from some lack of ballast, states¬ 
men could not utilise his powers, or reward them with 
emolument. He died poor—the lot of so many literary 
adventurers in the metropolis of Britain. 

Mr Playfair augured rightly, for in 1804 my father was 
presented to the church of Dunino, by the masters of the 
United College of St Andrews, at the intercession of his 
relative, the principal. Mr Dempster hastened to offer his 
congratulations in these terms : 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


65 


Dunnichen, Forfar, 25th Feb. 1804. 

“ Rev. and Dear Sir, —Ever since I heard of your being 
certainly provided with the kirk of Dunino, I have been 
confined to my room with a fit of sickness, which I mention 
as my apology for not having congratulated you earlier on 
that happy event. It does great honour to your friend 
Principal Playfair, being a vigorous act of friendship. I 
also ascribe your good fortune to the kind interposition of 
Providence in your favour, for there are few College Patron¬ 
ages occur at a time that none of the Patrons’ families are 
qualified to receive them; neither do I doubt that your 
dutiful attention to your aged parents, and your diligent 
discharge of all your other duties have disposed Providence 
favourably towards you, and induced you to refuse the kill¬ 
ing drudgery of a London newsmonger, and a precarious 
provision in the family of a Highland laird. Such are my 
reflections on this occasion. They are accompanied with 
the most heartfelt satisfaction. I now heartily wish you 
good health to enjoy your preferment. All this family are 
much pleased at your good fortune, and I remain most 
sincerely, 

“ Yours, 

“ George Dempster.” 

To the ministerial charge of Dunino my father was or¬ 
dained in May 1805. The parish manse was four miles 

from St Andrews, where there was pleasant literary society 

e 


66 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


and the well-stored University Library. Among the more 
intimate associates of my father’s early ministry were Dr 
Henry David Hill, Dr James Brown, and Dr James Hunter, 
who had all preceded him in his parochial cure, and were 
now Professors; also Mr Thomas Chalmers, minister of 
Kilmany, and Principal Playfair his relative and patron. 

Dr James Playfair is entitled to remembrance. At a 
period when astronomy, geography, and the kindred sciences 
attracted little attention from Scottish scholars, he dili¬ 
gently prosecuted those branches of learning. His work 
on Geography, extending to six volumes quarto, with a 
folio atlas, constitutes the basis of many less costly geo¬ 
graphical publications; while his folio Chronology is known 
as a work of great research and respectable authority. It 
afforded my father peculiar satisfaction to prove serviceable 
to his relative when he was exposed to some serious hostili¬ 
ties. These he honourably surmounted, and died in peace 
with all mankind in May 1819, in his 81st year. Of some¬ 
what unbending manners, and not particularly sociable, 
Principal Playfair preferred the quiet retirement of his study 
to any displays of eloquence or learning, whether in the 
pulpit or in the academy. But he was both an orator and 
an elegant scholar. 

Through his marriage with Miss Margaret Lyon, who was 
nearly related to the noble family of Strathmore, Dr Play¬ 
fair became father of four sons, who all attained positions of 
distinction. Colonel William Davidson Playfair, the eldest 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


67 


son, after a successful military career in India, spent many 
years of honourable retirement at St Andrews. Colonel Sir 
Hugh Lyon Playfair, LL.D. the second son, was distinguished 
as an artillery officer, and as the constructor of the Great 
Military Road between Calcutta and Benares, and more 
especially in after life as the greatest city reformer of his 
time. He was many years chief magistrate of St Andrews, 
and he changed that place from the condition of a moulder¬ 
ing hamlet into a well-constructed modern city. For his 
praiseworthy exertions at St Andrews, he was knighted in 
1856 ; he likewise received every honour which the citizens 
or the University could confer. Sir Hugh died on the 23d 
January 1861, in his 75th year. 

Principal Playfair’s third son George, became an eminent 
physician in India. A son of this gentleman, Dr Lyon 
Playfair, LL.D., C.B., at present represents in Parliament 
the Universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh, and is highly 
distinguished for his scientific attainments and his interest 
in the cause of education. Dr Playfair’s youngest son 
James, prosecuted in Glasgow a successful mercantile 
career, and became one of the magistrates of the city. 

Dr Henry David Hill was a younger brother of Principal 
Hill, formerly noticed. He was ordained at Dunino in 
May 1785, but demitted the cure on being appointed 
Professor of Greek at St Andrews in October 1789. Pro¬ 
fessor Hill published a work on “ The Institutions, Govern¬ 
ment, and Manners of the States of Ancient Greece.” He 


68 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


was remarkable for his social qualities and ready humour. 
Dining one day with the Presbytery of St Andrews, a joint 
was found to be imperfectly cooked. “Come,” said Dr 
Henry, “ let us not grumble. We can easily hand it to the 
cook, who will pass it to the kettle, and all will be made 
right.” Dr Cook and Mr Kettle were two of the brethren 
present. The laugh which followed restored the clerical 
equanimity. Professor Hill found Mr Kettle seated on a 
large boulder at his manse gate as he chanced to come up. 
“ Seated so lowly, Mr Kettle,” exclaimed Dr Hill, “when 
your brother Pan was a heathen god!” A humorist of this 
ready stamp was an acceptable visitor at the manse of 
Dunino. Dr Henry David Hill died in February 1820. 

Of an entirely different mould was Professor James 
Brown. He held the living of Dunino from 1790 to 1796, 
when, on the recommendation of Dr John Hunter, he was 
appointed Professor of Natural Philosophy at Glasgow. 
For this office he was eminently qualified, but an un¬ 
happy affection of the nervous system, soon incapacitated 
him for performing the Professorial duties. For some 
years he discharged his duties by proxy, but afterwards 
resigned his chair on an allowance. He long made St 
Andrews his head-quarters, and his remarkable powers of 
conversation drew around him not only all the lettered 
society of that neighbourhood, but learned and distinguished 
persons from a distance. My father frequently invited him 
to his table, where the brilliancy of his conversation con- 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


69 


trasted not unpleasantly with the more solid talk of other 
learned persons, who were frequent visitors at the manse. 
Professor Brown died in November 1838 in his 75th year. 

Dr James Hunter was my father’s immediate predecessor; 
he was minister of Dunino for six years. Son of the 
celebrated Dr John Hunter, Dr James inherited his father’s 
tastes, and was expert in discussions connected with classic 
literature. In 1804 he was elected Professor of Logic and 
Rhetoric at St Andrews, an appointment which he held till 
his death in 1845. As an instructor in metaphysics and 
Belles Lettres he did not excel. Formal and precise in 
manner, he failed to impress his students with any philo¬ 
sophic ardour; and some even doubted his personal in¬ 
terest in those branches of knowledge which it was his 
duty to inculcate. In private life he was kind and 
sociable. He had read much, and, aided by a powerful 
memory, he could use promptly what he knew. He indulged 
in a species of repartee, which fell somewhat heavily on the 
object of it; but he never left a company without, by a 
corresponding compliment, compensating for his unpleasant¬ 
ness. In the pulpit his manner partook of that freedom 
which characterised him in private life. Preaching for my 
father on the evening of a Communion Sunday, he failed to 
discover his text. After a pause, he exclaimed, “ This is 
extraordinary; I cannot find my text. I marked it on the 
top of my sermon last night, and I thought that it was 
in the Epistle to the Hebrews, the 13th chapter and 22d 


70 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


verse; but that’s a mistake. The text is, ‘ Suffer the words 
of exhortation,’ but where these words are, I can’t tell you. 
But your minister has a good knowledge of passages. 
Ho ! ” proceeded the Doctor, looking towards my father, 
who was seated in his family pew—“ can you tell me where 
the text is?” “You’re quite right,” said my father; “look 
at the passage you have named.” “Well, brethren,” said the 
preacher, “ your minister says that the text is in Luke— 
Luke’s Gospel, the 30th chapter and the 2 2d verse ; if not 
there, it’s somewhere else, for I know it’s in the Bible.” 
After service, the Professor being informed that the text was 
in the middle clause of the verse which he had at first named, 
called out in the churchyard—“Halloa! my friends, the text is 
in the Hebrews after all; you’ll find it when you get home.” 

No clerical neighbour was by my father more esteemed 
than Thomas Chalmers of Kilmany. On the occasion of 
every visit to his parents at Anstruther—and they were 
not few—Mr Chalmers spent one or two days at Dunino 
manse, which stood about half-way between Kilmany and 
Anstruther. One of Chalmers’ earliest movements was to 
improve the social status and domestic condition of the 
clergy. He came to my father on a Monday in a state of 
great enthusiasm. “Yesterday I preached,” he said, “in 
the College Kirk, and inaugurated my scheme for the aug¬ 
mentation of stipends. I’ll read to you my discourse 
thereupon taking a MS. from his pocket, and placing it 
on the table. “Just twenty minutes,” said my father, who 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


71 


knew that his friend, when he entered warmly on a subject, 
torgot everything else; and the cook had announced that 
dinner was almost ready. “ Half an hour,” pleaded Chal¬ 
mers, “ and you shall have the entire discourse.” My 
father assented, but placed his watch upon the table. The 
orator proceeded, as if he had been addressing a congrega¬ 
tion. “ The church bell,” he said, “ may ring for a century 
to come, but if the clergy are not properly remunerated, 
they will be termed ‘ puir bodies, ’ and themselves and their 
ministrations will be regarded with contempt.” “I beg your 
pardon,” Mr Chalmers, said my father, “ but what’s your 
text?” “ My text,” said the orator, “is Luke 12th and 15th 
—‘ A man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the 
things which he possesseth.’” “ You are not textual,” said my 
father. “Waita little,”rejoined the orator, “and you’ll see.” 
The sermon proved both eloquent and appropriate. “ He 
never expressed himself better,” said my father, “ even in 
the days of his greatest popularity.” * 

In general conversation, Chalmers was reticent. But he 
was an agreeable companion, and even loquacious in the 
society of a few. At this period he was actively pur¬ 
suing his chemical studies, and making experiments in 
natural science. “ I was much troubled in shaving,” he said, 
“till I discovered proper cutlery. The secret is worth 

* This discourse, slightly altered, was delivered by Chalmers as his 
maiden speech in the General Assembly of 1809, and created no incon¬ 
siderable interest. It was published by request. 


72 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


knowing. If you desire to shave smoothly, use razors with 
brown or mottled handles. I now shave painlessly.” “ An 
odd experience,” replied my father, “ for razors of the finest 
edge are mounted in ivory, and are accordingly sold at 
a higher price.” 

On a Saturday morning, the minister of Kilmany stepped 
in. “ My dear sir,” said he, “ I have been detained at 
Anster all the week, and I am unprepared for to-morrow’s 
duty; so allow me to take your place, and, like a kind 
man, you’ll take mine at Kilmany.” My father consented. 
“ I don’t know what my housekeeper may have for you in 
the way of eating,” he proceeded, “ but there is very fine 
whisky ; and this reminds me, I have discovered a method 
of eliminating the harsher and more deleterious particles 
from all spirituous liquors. I leave my bottles uncorked, and 
place them in an open cupboard, so that atmospheric air 
entering the necks of the bottles, may mollify the fluid.” “All 
very good,” said my father. On a bottle of Mr Chalmers’ 
rectified aqua being produced next day after dinner, at Kil¬ 
many, he found that other agencies than those of the atmo¬ 
sphere had been reducing the strength. Three-fourths of 
the liquor had evidently been poured out, and the remainder 
proportionately diluted with aqua from the well. Whisky 
of such extreme mildness might be drunk readily. In 
the evening, as my father was approaching his manse, Mr 
Chalmers met and hailed him. “ Got well through, I hope ?” 
“Oh! yes.” “ And some home comforts, too ?” “Yes, a 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


73 


very good dinner, and very mild whisky.” “ Glad you liked 
it ; knew you would. I’ve fallen on the true secret.” “ It 
was so very mild, that I finished the bottle.” “Nonsense, my 
dear sir,” said Mr Chalmers, who now began to suspect 
his friend’s sincerity; “ had you done so, you would not have 
been here to tell the tale.” “ Oh yes,” persisted my father, 
“ I finished the bottle. The fact is, Mr Chalmers, you’re a 
bachelor, as well as myself, and if you take the corks out of 
your whisky bottles, and throw open your cupboards, your 
whisky will be mild enough. Yours was mostly water.” 
Chalmers was a little crest-fallen, but added after a little— 
“ Depend upon it, sir, the air does it.”* 

The minister of Kilmany was no confirmed bachelor. 
It was believed that he entertained an affection not alto¬ 
gether undisguised for Miss Mary C-, daughter of a 

Professor in the United College, and a near relative of 
Principal Hill. The lady was possessed of no incon¬ 
siderable attractions, and had numerous suitors. Chalmers, 
it was alleged, had addressed her in some stanzas of poetry; 
but she was inexorable. Certain rhymes at the expense of 
the hapless suitor were put into circulation. An opening 
stanza, which we subjoin, is tame enough— 

“Tom Chalmers wooed fair Mary C-, 

And praised her in poetic book ; 

* This anecdote and a number of others, which I communicated at 
his request to my friend Mr James Dodds, have been included by that 
respected gentleman in his recent work, “Thomas Chalmers, a Bio¬ 
graphical Study.” Edinburgh: 1870. i2mo. 




74 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


Quick to her heels the lady took— 

And left Thomas to mourn.” 

My father induced Mr Chalmers in an important case, 
which was before the Provincial Synod, to make an ora¬ 
tion. He was proceeding to place before him the record of 
the proceedings, with comments of his own. “ Don’t,” 
said Chalmers, “but give me a point—one branch of the 
case,—and I’ll work it out ; I cannot scatter myself over a 
multitude of points.” An important point was accordingly 
selected, and upon it the minister of Kilmany promised to 
be prepared in due time. The Synod met at Kirkcaldy, 
and when Chalmers rose to address the meeting there 
were thunders of applause. A number of gentlemen from 
St Andrews had planted themselves in different portions 
of the building to encourage the young orator. “ Mr 
Chalmers,” said my father, “ acquitted himself magnificently. 
The sarcasm heaped upon our opponents was crushing. 
His eloquence seemed to bear upon the Court like the 
onward progress of a great river. The point was gained. 
“ You have done admirably,” said my father, grasping the 
orator’s hand. “ I was vastly encouraged,” was the reply, 
“by those fellows encouraging me to go on. Encourage¬ 
ment, my dear sir, is half the battle.” 

One winter afternoon Chalmers called at Dunino manse, 
uttering expressions of distress. “ I am come to crave 
your assistance, my dear sir. Have you a spare suit ? I 
have suffered a terrible disappointment. Some friends ex- 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


75 


tracted a promise that I would attend the military ball to¬ 
night, and I wrote to my mother to get me proper clothes 
for the occasion. I went to Anster yesterday, and at once 
asked about the clothes. Conceive my mortification when 
my mother said that, being unable to read my letter, she 
had put it on a shelf that I might read it when I came.” 
My father laughed heartily, and agreed to lend the deside¬ 
rated garments, but suggested that both might be as pro¬ 
fitably employed in a quiet evening talk as amidst the 
excitement of a ball-room. The minister of Kilmany at 
length acquiesced, and tarried at the manse. 

Mr Chalmers was chaplain and adjutant of a corps of 
St Andrews’ volunteers. The members were to dine to¬ 
gether in the city, and my father was invited. Sometime 
before the hour of dinner, he met Mr Chalmers in the 
street, fully equipped in military attire, including a scarlet 
coat and white trousers. “How are you, my dear sir?” 
said the pastor of Kilmany. “Very well, I thank you,” said 
my father, “but you have the advantage over me. I don’t 
know who addresses me.” “ Don’t know me ? You know 
me perfectly—Chalmers of Kilmany.” “Forgive me,” per¬ 
sisted my father, “You certainly resemble my friend Mr 
Chalmers, but I feel that he has too much good sense to 
appear in a dress so unsuited to his profession.” Chalmers 
took my father’s arm, and some conversation ensued, which 
resulted in the adjutant of volunteers appearing at dinner 
in clerical vestments. 



76 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


Soon after the publication of his “ Inquiry into the 
National Resources,” Mr Chalmers presented himself at 
Dunino. He was (1808) in his 28th year, and was still 
subject to an effervescent ardour concerning any theme 
which for the nonce arrested his fancy. “ Have you read 
my book, my dear sir?” he inquired eagerly.” “Yes, said 
my father.” “Well, have I not established my theory?” 
Removing from his table the “ Farmer’s Magazine,” which 
contained a slashing attack on the work, my father said 
“You’ll have my views after dinner.” When that meal 
was concluded, the friends proceeded together to an emi¬ 
nence a few hundred yards eastward of the manse. Hav¬ 
ing seated themselves on some boulders, with which the 
little hill was covered, my father began: “Now Mr Chal¬ 
mers, for your political economy! You allege that as a 
nation we should be independent of foreign trade, and that 
if our home resources were properly economised, commerce 
with foreign countries might be dispensed with.” “Precisely, 
my dear sir.” “ Well,” said my father, “ I don’t propose to 
substitute another theory, nor to assail yours; but let us 
look round. The estate of Dunino, on which we now are, 
how was it acquired?” “Oh, you know,” said Mr Chal¬ 
mers, “ Mr Irvine made a fortune by trading in the West 
Indies.” “Precisely so,” said my father. “And Stravi- 
thie?” “Partly by foreign trade, no doubt.” “And 
Bonnytown?” “ Yes, by colonial merchandise.” “And 
Feddinch, Lathockar, Brighton, Lingo ? ” naming nearly 





AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


77 


every estate which could be seen from the spot. “I suspect,” 
added my father, “ we must not quite abandon our foreign 
trade.” Chalmers accepted the criticism very good naturedly. 

On the appearance of Dr Claudius Buchanan’s “ Christian 
Researches,” Mr Chalmers became much interested in the 
conversion of the heathen, and a vigorous advocate of 
missions. In order to interest him in what had produced 
such a powerful effect upon his own mind, he presented my 
father with a copy of Buchanan’s work. The volume occu¬ 
pies a place in my library. The presentation note is dated 
24th January 1813. Dr Chalmers removed from Kilmany 
to Glasgow in 1814. After an interval of four years, he 
and my father renewed correspondence, but only for a brief 
period. A difference of ecclesiastical sentiments estranged 
them. To the last my father, while upholding a policy op¬ 
posed to that of his old friend of Kilmany, yielded every tribute 
to his genius. He would say, “We all knew that Chalmers 
would become eminent. If he had not identified himself with 
party, he would have been the greatest man in Scotland.” 

Francis Jeffrey married as first wife, a daughter of the 
Rev. Dr Charles Wilson, Professor of Ecclesiastical His¬ 
tory at St Andrews, and sister-in-law of Dr James Hunter. 
Through Dr James, my father became acquainted with the 
Reviewer. As the General Assembly came round, he found 
himself at Jeffrey’s table, enjoying a hospitality which was 
profuse and elegant. Jeffrey was singularly acute. Though 
entertaining company during the entire evening, he was 


78 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


sure to appear in court next morning, perfectly at his ease, 
and quite familiar with his brief. From what my father 
termed his “ affected ” English accent, he did not excel in 
leading parole evidence; but in demolishing unfavourable 
testimony he was matchless. A military officer had given 
evidence which seriously compromised his client. In re¬ 
viewing his deposition, Jeffrey proceeded, “And as to this 

soldier ”-“ I’m an officer, sir,” shouted the indignant 

witness from a back bench. “ I beg his pardon, my lord,” 
said the counsel ; “ this officer, but no soldier .” 

Jeffrey discouraged litigation, and urged those who desired 
to try fortune at the law to make up differences in private. 
He seemed unconscious of personal celebrity, but delighted 
to celebrate his contemporary Henry Cockburn. The appre¬ 
ciation was reciprocated by the other great barrister, who 
spoke of Jeffrey with affection. Cockburn likewise discom¬ 
mended appeals to the law courts. “ If,” he said, “ any one 
claimed my coat, and showed that he really wanted it, I 
would give him both my coat and vest, sooner than defend 
my right to them in the Court of Session.” 

Cockburn and my father often met. At a consultation 
in a church case, my father asked him whether his reasons 
of dissent and appeal to the General Assembly were well 
drawn. “ They’re much too good,” said Cockburn; “ never 
show the enemy your hand. Always keep your best reasons 
till the entire case comes up, so as to take your opponent by 
surprise. Never blow the trumpet and warn the opposition.” 



AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


79 


“ Moral gladiatorship,” said my father, “ was presented in 
the Assembly when Jeffrey and Cockburn were opposing 
counsel. Cockburn spoke more naturally, using the native 
Doric, and his plain, candid manner might have induced the 
belief that he was no hired pleader, but an honest country- , 
man. When he spoke pathetically, a hush was heard. His 
drollery excited shouts of laughter. In the Assembly, Jeffrey 
always spoke seriously, and with marked respect for the 
House—but he never failed, even in the most hopeless cause, 
to produce some impression favourable to his client.” 

Jeffrey and Cockburn were counsel together in a case 
in which it was sought to prove that the heir of an estate 
was of low capacity, and, therefore, incapable of adminis¬ 
trating his affairs. Jeffrey had vainly attempted to make 
a country witness understand his meaning, as he spoke of 
the mental imbecility and impaired intellect of the party. 
Cockburn rose to his relief, and was successful at once, 

“ Dy’e ken young Sandy-?” “ Brawly,” said the wit¬ 

ness ; “ I’ve ken’t him sin’ he was a laddie.” “ An’ is there 
onything in the cratur, dy’e think?” “’Deed,” responded 
the witness, “ there’s naething in him ava ; he wadna ken a 
coo frae a cauf! ” 

When attending the General Assembly of 1806, my father 
had the satisfaction of sitting, as a member of that venerable 
court, with John Home, the author of “Douglas.” After 
retiring from the ministry in 1757, Mr Home obtained the 
sinecure office of Conservator of Scots’ Privileges at Camp- 



80 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


vere, and he was, by the ecclesiastical establishment of that 
place, elected annually as their representative elder to the 
Assembly. Mr Home was now in his eighty-fourth year. 
My father was much struck by his reverend aspects: he 
seemed an impersonation of good-humour and gentleness. 
He died in September 1808. 

During the sitting of the General Assembly of 1806, my 
father first heard of Walter Scott. The “ Lay of the Last 
Minstrel,” had been published about a year, and its merits 
were still a subject of conversation in the capital. As all 
spoke highly of the poem, my father procured it from a cir¬ 
culating library, but with some difficulty, and at a high 
charge. He was so fascinated that he sat up at night and 
read the entire poem. His admiration of the author, which 
began on this occasion, gained strength; he obtained all 
Scott’s works as they appeared, and always maintained that 
the author of the “ Lay,” was alone capable of producing 
“ Waverley.” 

During one of his Edinburgh visits, my father became 
acquainted with Archibald Constable. When they first 

t 

met, Mr Constable said, “I hope you’ll be no stranger to 
me. Your parish I know as familiarly as our Edinburgh 
High Street. I was born at Carnbee ;* and many a day as 

* In the memoirs of Archibald Constable, he is represented as hav¬ 
ing been born on the 24th February 1775. This is an error. The 
entry of his birth in the Baptismal Register of Carnbee parish is as 
follows:—“ 1773 , Feb. 24, Thomas Constable and Elizabeth Myles 
had a child born, and baptized on the 27th, named Archibald.” 



AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


81 


a boy did I ride on the riggin’ qf Dunino Kirk.”* Of Mr 
Constable my father entertained a high opinion. He spoke 
of his fine commanding appearance and courtly and un¬ 
affected manners. Mr Constable, he said, delighted to 
serve all who came to Edinburgh from his birthplace; 
while natives of the East Nenk o' Fife held responsible 
positions in his own establishment. His father was a farm 
grieve, and his immediate progenitors were similarly em¬ 
ployed. “ But it was impossible,” said my father, “ to 
look at Archibald Constable, and entertain any doubt as to 
his having sprung from a gentle stock.” In Fife the name 
of Constable is uncommon, but it abounds in the Carse of 
Gowrie or eastern Perthshire, where those who bear the 
patronymic are substantial yeomen, and occupy good 
positions in society. 

Not long before the period when my father became 
acquainted with Archibald Constable, the partnership be¬ 
tween him and Alexander Gibson Hunter of Blackness had 
been dissolved. In Mr J. G. Lockhart’s “Life of Scott,” 
that dissolution is attributed to Mr Hunter’s impracticable 
temper. This statement rests on no solid foundation. By 
the death of his father, in 1809, Mr Hunter became owner 
of three fine estates in Forfarshire, and he proposed to 
leave Edinburgh to reside in the old family mansion of 

* The old parish church of Dunino, which was taken down in 1826 
to make room for the present handsome structure, was partially under 
ground, and the turf roof sloped so closely to the churchyard that goats 
grazed and children romped upon it. 

F 


82 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


Blackness House, near Dundee. In these circumstances, 
he retired from his connection with the publishing firm of 
Constable & Co., but in terms of perfect amity with the 
remaining partner. In reference to this subject I am privi¬ 
leged, through the kindness of Mr Hunter’s son, the present 
proprietor of Blackness, to subjoin a letter addressed to 
himself by Mr Constable, in which, besides other interesting 
particulars, the uninterrupted intimacy which subsisted 
between Archibald Constable and the original partner of 
his publishing firm is emphatically set forth. The letter is 
as follows :— 

“Edinburgh, 26th March 1825. 

“ David Hunter, Esq. of Blackness, 

“ Sir, —I had the pleasure of sending you by carrier a 
set of the Novels, Tales, and Romances of the Author 
of ‘Waverley,’ in thirty-three volumes, and the Poetical 
Works of Sir Walter Scott, in eight volumes. They will 
aid the commencement of your library; and I have to 
request you will receive them as a small memorial of 
my sincere regard for you, and as the representative of 
an early and most justly esteemed friend. Had your 
father been now alive, no man would have delighted more 
in the perusal of these works; no one could better have 
appreciated their merits, or more fully rejoiced in their 
celebrity. 

“ You have, besides, other claims to the possession of 
these volumes from their publisher. One of these claims I 


AND BIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


83 


cannot forget, and must now repeat to you, that I very often 
heard your father express a wish that the distinguished indi¬ 
vidual— since the Author of 1 Waverley ’—would turn his 
mind to novel-writing; and which, in the most warm terms, 
he used to predict, would place the great Unknown most 
prominently without a rival in literature. And this, I 
think, I can venture to assure you, sometimes happened (in 
Mr Hunter’s own enthusiastic manner) in the author’s own 
presence. This is a little historical notice which I cannot 
resist the gratification of now recording, and which, I am 
sure, cannot but be pleasing to you. I do not, however, 
pretend to say what effect, or any, these prophetic effusions 
may have had in producing the works originally, but the 
circumstance has very often occurred to me when thinking 
of former days. 

“ It will give me great pleasure to hear from you, and 
with best wishes, believe that I am always, 

“ My dear Sir, 

“ Your sincere Friend, 

“Arch. Constable.” 

“ RS .—I need not say that you will consider this letter, in 
so far as it relates to the works of the Author of ‘ Waverley,’ 
as entirely confidential and private; I mean, in so far as 
regards the Author.” 

With an esteemed associate of Robert Burns, my father 
enjoyed an agreeable intimacy. This was Allan Masterton, 


84 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


who, under his Christian name, has been celebrated by the 
Bard in the opening verse of one of his more popular 
songs— 

“ Willie brewed a peck o’ maut, 

An’ Rob an’ Allan cam’ to pree.’’ 

Allan was, during Burns’ visit to Edinburgh, a teacher of 
writing in the city, and possessing an excellent ear and 
much musical skill, he composed tunes to several of the 
poet’s best songs. Among these are the “ Braes of Balloch- 
myle,” “ Beware o’ Bonnie Ann,” “ Strathallan’s Lament,” 
and the song n which he is personally celebrated. In a 
letter to Captain Riddel, Burns describes him as “ one of 
the worthiest men in the world, and a man of real genius.” 
To my father Mr Masterton related an incident, which he 
said had produced on his mind a powerful and salutary 
impression. He was on a visit to London. Having pro¬ 
ceeded to the metropolis in the Leith passenger boat, he 
proposed to return home by the same vessel. His luggage 
was being placed on board, when it occurred to him that, as 
he might not revisit England, it would be more interesting 
and profitable to return by coach. He acted on his resolu¬ 
tion at once. When he reached Edinburgh he found that 
there was an alarm as to the non-arrival of the Leith pas¬ 
senger boat. It was never heard of. Mr Masterton cele¬ 
brated the birthday of the Ayrshire Poet, as the year came 
round. As he rose on one anniversary to propose the 






AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


85 


memory of his friend, his voice faltered, and he fell back 
and expired.* 

I group together the names of three estimable persons 
with whom my father enjoyed an intimacy, of which he 
always spoke with satisfaction—the Rev. Sir Henry Mon- 
creiff, Bart., minister of St Cuthbert’s, Edinburgh; Dr John 
Jamieson, author of the Scottish Dictionary; and Dr John 
Fleming, minister of Flisk. Sir Henry expressed himself in 
the Scottish dialect, a circumstance which diji not mar the 

X 

respect which attended his oratory in the General Assembly. 
He was a leader of the House. Possessed o r a forensic turn 
of mind, had he chosen the legal profession, he would have 
acquired distinction, as did his son and grandson, wh'o were 
raised to the bench. Sir Harry , as he was commonly 
named, was opposed to all innovations on the strict sim¬ 
plicity of Presbyterian worship. To show his distaste at 
the idea of sacredness-being attached to the church fabric, 
he always walked through the church to the pulpit without 
removing his hat. Dr Jamieson was jocular and full of 
anecdote; a hearty pleasant man, familiar with the events 
of the “langsyne.” The minister of Flisk, Dr John 
Fleming, was of a similar nature. To sit between him and 
Dr Thomas Gillespie, minister of Cults,t at a synod dinner, 
was an event which one fond of humour was not likely to 

* So my father related. I have been unable otherwise to obtain par¬ 
ticulars of the last years of Mr Allan Masterton. 

+ Concerning Dr Gillespie, see postea. 


86 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


forget. “ It was,” said my father, “ diamond cut diamond. 
Each had his hit—at first gentle, then harder, till repartee 
followed on repartee, with an intellectual gladiatorship diffi¬ 
cult to describe.” Dr Fleming became Professor of Natural 
Science at Aberdeen. In 1844 he was appointed to a pro¬ 
fessorial chair in the New College, Edinburgh. He died 
in 1857. 

Dr John Lee, latterly Principal of the University of Edin¬ 
burgh, was a man of some singularities, and one of the most 
remarkable scholars which his country has produced. Born 
of humble parents at Stow, in Mid-Lothian, he studied medi¬ 
cine, passed as M.D., and become surgeon-apothecary in a 
military hospital. Disgusted with the practice of physic, he 
qualified himself for the ministry, and preached in London. 
In 1808, he was presented to the church of Peebles, and 
four years thereafter, became Professor of Church History 
at St Andrews. In 1820 he accepted the Professorship of 
Moral Philosophy in King’s College, Aberdeen, intending to 
lecture one-half of the session at Aberdeen, and the other 
at St Andrews. His intention was changed by an over¬ 
turn of the stage-coach, which nearly proved fatal to him. 
From St Andrews he removed to Edinburgh, to become 
collegiate minister of the Canongate. In 1824 he was 
chosen a University Commissioner, and was appointed 
minister of Lady Yester’s church. In 1827 he was elected 
second clerk of the General Assembly; in 1828 he delivered 
lectures as substitute Professor of Theology in the Uni- 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


87 


versity of Edinburgh. He was appointed in 1830 one of 
the King’s chaplains. Still office followed upon office. In 
1835 h e exchanged Lady Yester’s for the Old Church, 
Edinburgh; in 1837 he became Principal of the United 
College, St Andrews—in 1838 he was named Secretary of 
the Bible Board. The Deanery of the Chapel Royal and 
Principalship of Edinburgh University came in 1840. In 
1843 ^e Professorship of Divinity was added to the Princi¬ 
palship. In 1844 the Principal of Edinburgh College was 
both moderator and principal clerk of the General Assembly. 

While so passing from office to office, and creditably per¬ 
forming the duties of each, Dr Lee was ready to undertake 
any occasional work which might arise from the incapacity 
or infirmity of others. He was the most extraordinary book- 
collector in the kingdom, and knew the history of every book 
and pamphlet in British literature. On every volume of his 
library he made special annotations, describing its particular 
or relative value. More than once he was obliged to part 
with his books from want of space in which to contain them. 
At last he dispensed with shelving and piled his books on 
the floors of his apartments. His memory was so retentive, 
that from his library heaps he could at once select any book 
which he desired to consult, and turn to the page where the 
information sought for was to be found. Of his health he 
constantly complained, but he was seldom laid aside by ill¬ 
ness till his 80th year, when he paid the debt of nature. 
Though he had obtained more offices than any of his 


88 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


contemporaries, and attained every honour which his country 
could bestow, including graduations in Law, Theology, and 
Medicine, he was not slow in expressing discontent that he 
had fared so poorly. He was impatient of contradiction, 
and sometimes fretful when no contradiction was offered. 
Though the best informed man of his time, he has produced 
no work in any degree worthy of his learning, or creditable 
to his industry. His public appearances were not striking. 
In the General Assembly he expressed himself in a mono¬ 
tonous undertone; and after he had spoken, it was difficult 
to discover the purpose of his talk. His pulpit discourses 
were like his pastoral addresses, “beautiful and saintly,”* 
but they lacked force. 

With this strangely-compounded and remarkable indi¬ 
vidual, my father maintained a cordial intimacy. When he 
was professor at St Andrews they met frequently. In 
private life Dr Lee was as facetious as he was in public 
stern and unyielding. His humour was sprightly and play¬ 
ful, and his laugh hearty and unconstrained. He delighted 
to relate witty anecdotes, always expressing himself with a 
naivete which intensified the humour. “ I have remarked, 
Dr Lee,” said a royal personage, “that the kitchen of 
Scottish monasteries is generally very large.” “ Scottish 
friars,” responded the doctor, with a shake of the head which 
was peculiar to him, “ did not object to the kitchen. They 
preferred it to the library.” 

* The latter were so characterised by Dr Chalmers. 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


89 


Principal Lee had a talent for mimicry, in which he in¬ 
dulged to the last. When on the verge of fourscore, he 
made a visit to his old friends at St Andrews. In the uni¬ 
versity library, he asked the late obliging librarian for a book, 
and during his absence to procure it, took his place behind 
a large desk or counter in the entrance-room. Principal 
Haldane of St Mary’s, then verging on fourscore, entered, 
and with eyes half-closed, as was his manner, requested the 
librarian to send him certain books. “You have not read 
what you have got,” said a voice from behind the counter. 
“ Eh !—eh ! Mr M-exclaimed the astounded Prin¬ 

cipal, “what!—eh?” “I say, sir,” persisted the voice, 
“ you shall have no more books till you return those you 
have got.” “ Eh !—eh ! what, what! ” said Dr Haldane, 
opening his eyes wide, and casting a glance behind the 
counter, where the Principal of Edinburgh was rubbing his 
hands and struggling with a laugh. “ Oh! you rogue, 
Doctor Lee, who would have supposed it? But I’m quite 

relieved, for I thought our friend, Mr M-, had lost his 

reason.” 

When my father was a lad of twelve, he received instruc¬ 
tions in the small-sword exercise from a humble veteran 
named Stewart, who lived near his father’s house at Coupar- 
Grange. He took much to the old man, whose stories of 
“hairbreadth ’scapes ” charmed his youthful fancy. Years 
passed, and Stewart’s nephew entered, as a classical student, 
the University of St Andrews. At my father’s manse he 




90 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


found a warm welcome. His name was James Browne ; he 
was born in the parish of Cargill in 1793. At St Andrews 
he distinguished himself by his attention to the classics, 
but more so by a persistent combativeness. He was con¬ 
stantly getting into scrapes—not by vicious indulgence, but 
by breaches of the peace. He challenged, boxed, whipped, 
and demolished all with whom he differed; and he inclined 
to differ with all mankind. But for my father’s good offices, 
he might, on account of his propensity, have been compelled 
to exchange the academic groves of St Andrews for the pas¬ 
tures of Cargill. 

As he grew older, Browne became somewhat less com¬ 
bative, though in his thirtieth year, he sought to vindicate 
his honour by challenging to mortal combat the editor of 
the Scotsman newspaper. After a short experience as a pro¬ 
bationer of the Church, he passed as advocate, when he 
received the degree of Doctor of Laws from his old pro¬ 
fessors at St Andrews. But his impetuous nature and a 
tendency for romancing, unfitted him for professional em¬ 
ployment. He became a writer for the press. As editor 
of the Caledonian Mercury , he proved serviceable in dis¬ 
covering the West Port murders. He contributed to the 
“ Encyclopaedia Britannica,” and was sub-editor of the 
seventh edition. His “History of the Highlands and 
the Highland Clans” is a respectable performance. He 
died in 1841. Shortly before his death he became a per¬ 
vert to the Romish faith. 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS . 


91 


The office of parochial schoolmaster of Dunino became 
vacant in 1813 by the death of Mr George Cant, a man of 
eminent accomplishments. My father sought to secure a 
suitable successor, and it afforded him peculiar satisfaction 
when the choice of the electors fell upon one who had pro¬ 
secuted learning under difficulties, and was known as a poet 
This was William Tennant, author of “ Anster Fair,” a man 
destined to occupy a high scholastic position, and to record 
his name among the poets of his country. The poem of 
“ Anster Fair ” had in 1811 proceeded from the provincial 
press at Anstruther; but the author was now encouraged to 
issue an edition under the auspices of an Edinburgh pub¬ 
lisher. Among those who chiefly countenanced the poet at 
this time was the minister of Dunino. At his hospitable 
board he appeared once or twice a week, and the shelves of 
his well-stored library were thrown open to him. 

For these acts of kindness the poet was not ungrateful. 
He had formed a poetical society at Anstruther, styled the 
“ Musomanik,” and of this institution my father was con¬ 
stituted chaplain. The following communication, addressed 
to the reverend chaplain by the leading members of the 
fraternity is in Mr Tennant’s handwriting : 

“Ambrose’s Tavern, Edinburgh, 25th March 1815. 

“ Rev. and very Dear Sir, 

“ Being assembled, as we now are, over a tavern glass, 
and enjoying, as we now do, the pleasure of our poetical 


92 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


existences, we cannot refrain from communicating to you 
somewhat of our Musomanik raptures, and wafting over to 
the parsonage of Dunino and its hospitable landlord, by 
means of the conductor of this sheet of paper, a little flash 
of that burning electricity which animates our bosoms. We 
hope you are well and happy, and in possession of all those 
pleasures which hospitality and open-heartedness never fail 
to pour upon the heads of their fortunate votaries. We feel 
strongly inclined to expatiate and expand ourselves in the 
luxuriance of epistolary gaiety; but we must clap a bit upon 
the foaming mouths of our fiery Pegasuses. We, indeed, 
have nothing to say of importance—it is all fume, and folly, 
and inanity; but foolish and full of smoke and fume as are 
our thoughts, our affections are real and sincere, and we 
rejoice to take the opportunity, even though it cost you 
ninepence, to signify to you our affectionate and unanimous 
regard. 

u We must, therefore, close our card with wishing you all 
good things. ‘ May you be blessed with the blessings of 
Heaven above, and the blessings of the deep that lieth 
under.’ 

“We are, very dear Sir, with much esteem and regard, 

“ Yours very sincerely, 

(Signed) “William Tennant, Laut*. 

“ Charles Gray, Recorder . 

“ W. Macdonald Fowler, VR. 

“ Matthew F. Conolly, See. Soe. Muso ” 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


93 


The absence of the chaplain from the autumnal sym¬ 
posium in 1814 is lamented by the laureate in these terms : 

“We are all extremely sorry that you found it incon¬ 
venient to attend our Musomanik Club on Friday. I assure 
you, that rich and inexhaustible as is our own unparalleled 
wit and humour, we were anticipating a large increase and 
additament to our hilarity from your presence and conversa¬ 
tion. Indeed, this has been our only vexation and disap¬ 
pointment—first, to flatter ourselves with hopes of your 
company, and then to be defrauded of it by I know not 
what unlucky and untoward star.” 

The chaplain, on subsequent occasions, did not disappoint 
his poetical brethren by his absence. Next spring he assisted 
in conferring honorary membership on Sir Walter Scott; and 
as a compliment to himself, his friend, Mr Dempster of 
Dunnichen was, at the autumn meeting, honoured with a 
diploma. From these new members communications were 
received. Sir Walter Scott wrote thus : 

“ To the Presidents 0/ the Musomanik Society of Anstruther. 
“ Gentlemen, 

“I am, upon my return from the country, honoured 
with your letter and diploma, couched in very flattering 
terms, creating me a member of the Musomanik Society of 
Anstruther. I beg you will assure the society of my grate¬ 
ful sense of the favour they have conferred upon me, and 
my sincere wishes that they may long enjoy the various 



94 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


pleasures attendant upon the hours of relaxation which 
they may dedicate in their corporate or individual capacity 

to ‘ weel-timed daffing.’ 

“ I remain, Gentlemen, 

“ Your much obliged humble servant, 

“ Walter Scott. 

“Edinburgh, 27th March 1815.” 

The laird of Dunnichen addressed his reply to the 
reverend chaplain : 

“ Dunnichen, 29th Oct. 1815. 

“ My dear and Rev. Sir, 

“ The carriers of St Andrews and Forfar brought me 
last night the favour of your letter and packet. The com¬ 
pliment contained therein is one of those pieces of good 
fortune commonly preceded by some supernatural inti¬ 
mation or presage. Such was not wanting on this occa¬ 
sion, for, beside passing the day in uncommonly good 
health and high spirits, in the morning dream of that night 
I was honoured with an unexpected visit from Apollo. 
Though my windows were shut, he opened my door, pre¬ 
sented me with a sprig of laurel, and most benignly said, 
in the words of his favourite child— 

‘ Accede! O magnos, aderit jam tempus honores, 

Care Deum.’ 

I had hardly time to reply Agnoseo Deum, when he vanished, 
and I awoke to the reception of my diploma, before sleep¬ 
ing again; for which be pleased to return my thanks to all 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


95 


my worthy Maniacs. Assure them I am twice as mad as 
any of them, though not half so ingenious, and that I shall 
not fail to attend the next anniversary. 

“ I remain, 

“ Rev. and dear Sir, 

“ Most respectfully yours, 

“ George Dempster.” 

The Musomanik Club, on the departure of the founders 
to other localities, suspended its sittings, not, however, 
before the publication of a volume in memorial of their 
fellowship. This volume, a thin octavo, is entitled “ Bouts- 
Rimes, or Poetical Pastimes of a few Hobblers round 
the base of Parnassus.” It contains many specimens of 
impromptu versification most creditable to the brother¬ 
hood.* The laureate rose step by step, till in 1835 he 
was, on the recommendation of Lord Jeffrey, appointed to 
the Chair of Oriental Languages at St Andrews. He died 
in 1848, in his sixty-fifth year. As a linguist, he has left 
some evidences of his skill in a “ Synopsis of Syraic and 
Chaldaic Grammar.” Of his poetical compositions, a few 
only obtained praise. His fame rests on “ Anster Fair,” a 
poem in which elegant versification renders classic a narra- 

* For a full account of the Musomanik Society of Anstruther, see 
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal of the 25th July 1840. “Lays and 
Lyrics” by Charles Gray. Edinburgh, 1841, i2mo, pp. 242-255; and 
Conolly’s “Life of Professor Tennant.” London, 1861. Pp. 209- 
223. 


96 


A COUNTRY MINISTER 


tive otherwise puerile. As a writer of prose, Professor 
Tennant did not excel; his style was always inflated, and 
occasionally turgid. In conversation he indulged a learned 
phraseology, which was rendered quaint and singular by a 
peculiar intonation. The recollection of early difficulties 
left an impression ; for though his expenditure on books 
and book-printing was unrestrained, he was in household 
matters inclined to penury. It was the custom of the St 
Andrews professors to invite their students to breakfast 
once a-year. Mr Tennant conformed to the practice, but 
not until eggs had fallen in the market to a price not ex¬ 
ceeding one halfpenny per egg. A single egg for each stu¬ 
dent, with toast and butter, constituted the dejcune. Shortly 
before his death, he received the degree of LL.D. from 
Marischal College, Aberdeen. He was lame in both his 
limbs, but he bore his infirmity with patience, and was not 
indisposed to join in any little jest concerning his restrained 
locomotion. “ The tax assessor last year charged me for 
arms,” he remarked to the late witty university librarian. 
“ To charge you for the use of your arms is indeed ex¬ 
quisite cruelty,” said the humorist. The professor laughed 
heartily. 

Another member of the Musomanik Club is entitled to a 
passing notice—Charles Gray, then a lieutenant, latterly a 
captain in the royal marines. This estimable gentleman 
delighted in cherishing the society of all who cultivated the 
gift of rhyming. In his two volumes of poems, he has pro- 


AND HIS RECOLLECTIONS. 


97 


duced several songs of superior merit.* Captain Gray was 
a welcome guest at the manse of Dunino. He sung his 
own songs, and related his naval experiences with a good- 
natured egotism. He died in 1851 at an advanced age. 

* See “The Modern Scottish Minstrel.” Edinburgh, 187a Pp. 
206-207. 



G 



MEN I HAVE KNOWN. 


pPJROM the last and best work of my late obliging 
Sift? correspondent, Mr William Jerdan, of the Literary 

Ig'o qAd 

Gazette , I borrow the title of the present chapter. 
No other will so accurately describe the character of remi¬ 
niscences which are chiefly biographical. During the last 
thirty years I have associated with many literary and other 
distinguished Scotsmen. Concerning those of the number 
who have left the scene, I desire to put on record my im¬ 
pressions and recollections. 

The late Professor Gillespie of St Andrews was my father’s 
friend, and my own. He was an enthusiastic angler, and 
frequently prosecuted his favourite pastime in the Kenly 
stream. Dunino Manse was near, and when the Professor 
was weary of his sport, he would put up his rod and have a 
chat with my father. A literary man he essentially was, and 
with no inconsiderable share of genius. Born in 1778 at 












MEN I HA VE KNO WN. 


99 


Closeburn, Dumfriesshire, the birth-place of the celebrated 
Dr John. Hunter of St Andrews, to whom he was related, 
he was educated in the free school of Wallacehall, and at 
the University of Edinburgh. In 1813 he was presented to 
the church living of Cults, Fifeshire; he afterwards was 
appointed assistant to Dr Hunter in the St Andrews 
Humanity Chair. When Dr Hunter was promoted to the 
Principalship of his College in 1836, he became his suc¬ 
cessor. As Professor of the Roman language he inspired 
his students with a literary ardour; he rejoiced to advance 
the interests of the deserving. His speculations on grammar, 
delivered in the form of “Saturday Conversations” to his 
class, were abundantly ingenious. As a periodical writer he 
excelled. To Blackwood's Magazine he contributed inter¬ 
esting “ Sketches of Village Character,” and in Constable’s 
Edinburgh Magazine delighted the facetious by his adven 
tures of “ Ill Tam,” and “The Feelings and Fortunes of a 
Scottish Tutor.” 

In conversation, Dr Gillespie was most diverting and 
jocund. His anecdotes were exhaustless, and every story 
received a charm from his peculiar relation of it. The most 
dejected were enlivened and cheered even by a short in¬ 
terview with the facetious Professor. He related with 
inimitable effect how he punished old Francy Robertson, 
the churlish hind, and terror of the schoolboys. Francy 
took delight in thrashing every youth who chanced to cross 
his path, and was detested accordingly. When found fault 


100 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


with for his cruelty and rashness, he said that if the boys 
did not deserve castigation at the time when he administered 
it, they were sure to deserve it before they passed into 
manhood. Along with some schoolmates the future Pro¬ 
fessor conspired to punish the old clodhopper. As he was 
one day seated on a mud wall near the farm yard, two of 
the conspirators walked up and engaged him in conversation. 
Gillespie, as the most adventurous, crept cautiously behind 
the wall, and got unseen to Francy’s back. He now, by a 
small fish-hook, adroitly attached to the churl’s voluminous 
bonnet the cord of a dragon or kite, which he forthwith let 
loose. By a rapid sidelong sweep, kite and bonnet rose 
into the empyrean. Missing his head-gear, and unsuspect¬ 
ing the cause of its flight, Francy entreated the youths 
beside him to give pursuit. They did, and likewise the 
maid-servants and others at the farm. But just as the 
bonnet was again and again within grasp, off it scampered 
into the air with ludicrous reluctance to be caught. At 
length it was arrested by a cow’s horns, the animal kicking 
and running all the while with admirable precipitation. 
When Francy at length got back his bonnet, it was found 
considerably worse of its aerial and bovine experiences. 

The Professor was on a visit to two maiden aunts. He 
had the credit of being studious, and, to maintain his repu¬ 
tation, he sat much by the fireside reading his favourite 
chap-books. Suddenly the crook began to move, and the 
kail-pot which it suspended over the fireplace moved too, 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


101 


till it hung right over the hearth. “ That will be some of 
Elspit Macgrowther’s tricks,” said one of the sisters, referring 
to a suspected witch who lived near. The other assented 
and re-arranged the cooking vessel. In a few minutes crook 
and pot moved again, and turned right upon the hearth. 
“ Preserve us a’,” exclaimed the sisters simultaneously, “the 
deil’s i’ the pat.” Tom feigned proportionate alarm, but 
after a time resumed his stool by the ingle-side. Again the 
pot became erratic. The sisters shrieked, and Tom fell 
over the stool in an affected swoon. Amidst the confusion 
that followed, he contrived to remove from the crook the 
little cord by means of which he had produced the alarm. 

The Professor’s first teacher was like some others of his 
class, a hero only in the absence of peril. During a thunder 
storm he was utterly prostrate, and when a dark cloud 
passed across the sky, he began to look from the school 
windows in tremulous apprehension of approaching danger. 
The boys were familiar with his weakness, but young 
Gillespie turned it into account. When a holiday was 
wanted, he caused some idle herd to gyrate a thunder spate 
outside, while he and others raised the cries, “ There’s 
thunder ! ” “ Did you see that flash ? ” “ That’s awfu’— 

the hale sky’s in a bleeze ! ” “Go home boys, go home 
quickly,” the paralysed dominie would exclaim ; “we are 
on the eve of a thunder-storm, and the rain will descend 
immediately.” 

When minister of Cults, Professor Gillespie experienced 


102 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


his first and worst attack of toothache. One Sunday the 
twinges were horrible, and shutting himself up in his library, 
he resolved to spend the afternoon in giving vent to his 
agony. At the entreaty of his wife he at length consented 
to try a plate of broth, the usual Sunday dish of the Scot¬ 
tish ecclesiastic. He had taken a few spoonfuls only, when 
he declined to proceed further, and at once despatched his 
man John to the neighbouring town of Cupar to fetch the 
doctor. When the physician arrived, he proceeded to 
assure him that an attack of toothache had assumed a very 
aggravated form. “ I am spitting teeth,” he said. “ I found 
two in a plate of broth, and no doubt all will soon go.” 
“ Did you retain the teeth found in the plate ?” inquired the 
physician. “ I did,” said the patient, “ and hope you can 
restore them to my jaw; I slipped them quietly into my 
pocket not to alarm my wife, and there they are,” presenting 
them. “ These are sheep’s teeth,” said the physician. “ Oh ! 
I remember, I was supping sheep’s-head broth,” replied the 
pastor, “ and I’m so thankful that my teeth are safe.” The 
relation of this story by the facetious Professor never failed 
to produce roars of laughter. 

In a field fronting his manse, Dr Gillespie erected a 
handsome sun dial. His cows, by rubbing against it, having 
menaced its overthrow, he instructed the village joiner to 
inclose it with a timber fence. The order was executed, 
and a note of the cost handed in. It run thus, “ For rail¬ 
ing in the deil, 5s.” “ Wonderfully cheap,” said the Pro- 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


103 


lessor. “ I’m paid considerably more for railing him in, but 
have not succeeded yet.” 

When his fame as a writer had spread abroad, Dr Gillespie 
was invited to lecture in one of the Fife towns on a subject 
to be selected by himself. To the Secretary of the lecture- 
room he intimated that he would lecture on Burke. What 
was his surprise, he said, when he came to fulfil his pledge, 
to find that he was placarded over the place as having con¬ 
sented to lecture “ on Burke and Hare, and the West Port 
murders ! ” 

Dr Gillespie talked seriously when he spoke of his recol¬ 
lections of Robert Burns. He remembered him distinctly. 
As a youth he had waited at Dumfries to see him pass by, 
and had regarded him with a veneration akin to idolatry. 
“ But,” he added, “ we boys well knew and deeply regretted 
that he was allowing his splendid genius to be obscured by 
social indulgences.” 

Professor Gillespie cherished a deep interest in the Scot¬ 
tish Martyrs. Ghiefly through his exertions, a handsome 
obelisk, commemorative of those who suffered at St Andrews, 
was reared in that city. Adjacent to this monument a pile 
of handsome buildings has lately been constructed, and 
named Gillespie Terrace , in honour of his memory. He died 
at Dunino on the nth September 1844. His second wife 
was a sister of John, first Lord Campbell, and Lord Chan¬ 
cellor. 

Dr George Cook was another of my early friends. A 


104 


MEN I HA VE KNOWN 


man of active habits, and deeply imbued with common 
sense, he was a judicious counsellor and effective adminis¬ 
trator. He succeeded Dr Chalmers as Professor of Moral 
Philosophy at St Andrews, and a better appointment might 
not easily have been made. Originality of sentiment he 
did not claim, and his style was unadorned. But he had 
mastered the science of ethics by a course of pertinacious 
study, and he supplied to his students the views of philo¬ 
sophers, both ancient and modern, on every department of 
his subject. His lectures were delivered with an impas¬ 
sioned manner, and which was intensified by the deeply 
sonorous character of his voice. As a leader in the 
General Assembly, he retained the confidence of his party, 
and after his death a strong testimony to his eminent ser¬ 
vices was entered on the public records of the Church. 

Dr Cook was a keen observer of human affairs, and re¬ 
joiced in relating his experiences of the whims and follies 
of mankind. When minister of Laurencekirk, he was in¬ 
vited by the chief magistrate of Brechin to become a candi¬ 
date for the office of first minister of that place. Plaving 
consented to preach in the parish church, he was on the 
previous evening entertained at dinner by the Provost, along 
with some leading members of the Town Council and con¬ 
gregation. At that period toasts were common, and the 
reverend candidate was warned by the host to select one 
which would not offend the convictions or prejudices of 
any one present. Intending to act upon the counsel, he 


MEN I HA VE KNOWN. 


105 


proposed as his toast, “ Honest men and bonnie lasses ! ” 
“ I thought,” said the Doctor, “ that I had been abundantly 
happy in my selection, but I afterwards learned that a 
Bailie came to the conclusion, that a minister who was 
thinking about the fair sex on the Saturday evening, would 
not be a suitable minister for the' town of Brechin. So,” 
added he, “ I lost the parish.” 

Immediately after the event of the Disruption, Dr Cook 
was met on the North Bridge, Edinburgh, by Mr Walter Dun¬ 
lop of the Secession Church, Dumfries, a celebrated humorist. 
After some conversation on the extent and character of 
the secession, Mr Dunlop exclaimed, “ Well, Doctor, you 
cooked them lang, but you’ve dished them at last!” 

Dr Cook was son of Mr John Cook, Professor of Moral 
Philosophy at St Andrews, and a nephew of Principal Hill. 
He was born in 1773, licensed to preach in April 1795, and 
settled at Laurencekirk in September of the same year. In 
1825 he was chosen Moderator of the General Assembly, 
and in the following year was appointed a member of the 
Royal Commission for visiting the Scottish Universities. 
He became Professor of Moral Philosophy at St Andrews 
in 1828, an office which he held till his death, which took 
place in May 1845. Of his several publications, his 
“ History of the Reformation ” is the most interesting; it 
has been commended for the candour which pervades it. 
A memoir of Dr Cook would find readers, and it is to be 
regretted that it has not been written. 


106 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


In 1838, the Principalship of the United College of St 
Andrews was conferred on Sir David Brewster, a man of 
European fame, but who, though in his 57 th year, and the 
reverse of wealthy, had not yet held any academical or 
other public appointment. It was alleged that he had an 
acrimonious temper, and that this unhappy peculiarity had 
interfered with his earlier promotion. But in his mature 
years and with his enlarged experience, it was hoped that 
he would, in the position he had at length attained, bear 
himself meekly. 'That hope was speedily overthrown, for 
however genial in private life, Principal Brewster was, with¬ 
in a few months after his appointment at St Andrews, in 
a state of hostility with half his colleagues. Nor was the 
strife of an evanescent character. As the older Profes¬ 
sors stepped off and were succeeded by others, previously 
apart from the scene of conflict, it was found that academical 
contention did not cease, but was rather on the increase. 
That there were some abuses in University management 
may be conceded, but there were certainly none which 
would have resisted the obvious appliance of a firm and 
judicious administration. Sir David Brewster proceeded 
differently, and sought to carry his measures vi et armis . 

It is unpleasant to refer to bygone feuds, but there is a 
cause for the allusion. In a well written and interesting 
work,* it has been alleged that Sir David Brewster, was “par 

* “ Home Life of Sir David Brewster,” by his daughter, Mrs Gordon. 
Edinburgh, 1870. 


107 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 

excellence the suffering elder of the Free Church,” and that 
he was specially selected for persecution by the adherents 
of the Established Church subsequent to the Disruption. 
His accomplished daughter alludes to the attempt made 
by the Presbytery of St Andrews, to deprive him of his 
Principalship for an alleged violation of the Act of Union, 
by his retaining office in a University, while he had severed 
his connection with the Established Church. That he was 
the only member of a Scottish University subjected to 
prosecution under the Test Act is correct, but it must 
be remembered that he was the only Professor who had 
violated the provisions of the statute. And Sir David was 
not subjected to prosecution from any ecclesiastical con¬ 
siderations, but solely on account of his having rendered 
himself, by his temper, so obnoxious in office, that the fact 
of his having contravened an old Act of Parliament was 
seized upon as an excuse to get rid of his presence at the 
University table. That this course was adopted, none can 
more heartily regret than I now personally do, but I will 
here publish the confession that his prosecution arose from 
my own individual suggestions. I discovered and made 
known the provisions of the Union Act, and in the public 
journals urged the prosecution. With a speech founded 
on materials which I had collected, my father moved in 
the Presbytery of St Andrews, that Sir David should be 
indicted at their bar. The proceedings which followed 
were, with entire unanimity, approved by the members of 


108 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


the University, but were abruptly terminated by a resolution 
of the General Assembly. 

In urging the prosecution of Sir David Brewster by the 
Presbytery of St Andrews, I had to gratify no feeling 
of personal dislike. I was in my nineteenth year, and 
in the impetuosity of hot youth sought to indulge what 
I then deemed a wise, but now perceive to have been 
a most mistaken, patriotism. I heartily rejoice that the 
effects of my juvenile rashness proved scathless to the illus¬ 
trious though irate philosopher, and that my injudicious 
procedure accelerated the abolition of Scottish University 
Tests. From St Andrews, Sir David Brewster was trans¬ 
ferred to the Principalship of Edinburgh University in 
1859. He was now bordering on fourscore, and was not 
unaware that rumours had reached the capital as to his 
dissensions at St Andrews. From whatever cause, the latter 
years of his life were comparatively serene. His last 
hours were worthy of a philosopher and a Christian. He 
died at Allerly, near Melrose, on the nth February 1869, 
at the age of eighty-eight. With Sir David I had latterly 
some pleasant correspondence. He accompanied Lord 
Elgin to the public meeting at Stirling for inaugurating the 
national monument to Wallace, and readily subscribed to 
the Ettrick Shepherd’s monument which I had originated. 
During the Non-intrusion controversy he often expressed 
himself with much bitterness, but he latterly was disposed 
to extend an abundant charity towards the religious con- 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN. 


109 


victions, and even the prejudices of others. By the gentler 
sex he was beloved. When bordering on eighty, Miss 
Phoebe L—n, a charming young lady of Fifeshire, begged 
that he would contribute some lines to her album. In vain 
did the philosopher protest that verse-making was not his 
forte . The lady would admit of no excuse ; so Sir David 
snatched a pen and wrote thus : 

“ Phoebe, 

Y’ be 
Hebe. 

D. B.” 

He delighted to recall the memory of those who had en¬ 
couraged his early studies. One of these was the eccentric 
David Stuart, eleventh Earl of Buchan. Sir David used to 
relate that as he was becoming known by his contributions 
to the scientific journals, Lord Buchan remarked to a friend, 
“ David writes good papers; he cleverly expresses the ideas 
which I give him from time to time ! ” 

The late Dr Robert Haldane, Principal of St Mary’s 
College, St Andrews, is entitled to honourable remem¬ 
brance. In his twofold capacity of Primarius Professor 
of Theology and first minister of St Andrews, he discharged 
his duties with remarkable industry, and no ordinary ac¬ 
ceptance. His discourses were forcible expositions of 
Divine truth, and were delivered with a manner singularly 
earnest and impressive. As a University lecturer he did 
not excel, but his examinations on his theological text- 


110 


MEN I HA VE KNOWN. 


books were judicious and searching. He delighted to 
reward the meritorious, and spared no efforts in procuring 
posts of honour for those students who were conspicuous 
by their diligence. He exercised a boundless hospitality. 

Principal Haldane was born in January 1772, in the 
parish of Lecropt, Perthshire, where his father rented a 
small portion of land. By his father he was intended for 
agricultural pursuits, but his mother, discovering his apti¬ 
tude for learning, resolved, on the proceeds of her personal 
industry, to send him to the Grammar School. As a private 
tutor, he acquired the means of prosecuting his studies at 
Glasgow College, and in December 1797 he was licensed 
to preach by the Presbytery of Auchterarder. In 1807 he 
was ordained to the ministerial charge of Drummelzier in 
the county of Peebles, and after two years was preferred to 
the Professorship of Mathematics at St Andrews. In 1820 
he was promoted to the office of first minister of St Andrews, 
and to the Principalship of St Mary’s College. In 1827 
he was elected Moderator of the General Assembly. He 
died at St Andrews on the 9th March 1854, at the advanced 
age of eighty-three. 

Among the earliest of my literary friends was Dr David 
Irving of Edinburgh, author of the “ Lives of the Scotish 
Poets.” With this venerable gentleman I became ac¬ 
quainted in 1843. He was then in his sixty-fifth year: he 
looked considerably older. He dressed in a suit of super¬ 
fine black cloth—dress coat and vest, with breeches and silk 


MEN 1 HA VE KNOIVN. 


Ill 


stockings; and as he was tall and well formed, with a fine 
massive head, soft features, and white flaxen hair, he pre¬ 
sented a most commanding presence. His manners were 
mild and courteous, but he was not free from prejudices, 
and both in speaking and writing would express himself 
keenly on whatever savoured of insincerity or assumption. 
With the majority of literary Scotsmen, for nearly half a 
century, he had enjoyed some acquaintance, and his remi¬ 
niscences of them were especially pleasing. Those who 
were familiar with classic literature possessed his chief re¬ 
gard, while all pretenders to learning received no common 
measure of disapprobation and censure. With Thomas 
Campbell and his contemporaries, he had been intimate, 
and it gave him pleasure to recount amusing incidents in 
their lives. Dabblers in verse were so obnoxious to him 
that few would venture to name in his presence a minor or 
provincial poet. In his advanced years he did not leave 
Edinburgh, yet he possessed correct information as to the 
condition and peculiarities of men of letters in every portion 
of the country. His love of books was a ruling passion. 
He obtained the best editions of the classic writers, and 
every valuable work illustrative of the national history. 
His books were well bound, and arranged on the shelves 
with the most business-like precision. Obliging and gene¬ 
rous in other matters, he only permitted his books to be 
consulted in his presence, and rigidly adhered to a rule 
which he had early laid down, of permitting no friend to 


112 


MEN I HA VE KNOWN 


borrow from his shelves. His hand-writing was singularly 
beautiful—every letter was exhibited in its relative propor¬ 
tions, and his punctuation was balanced by the nicest rules 
of composition. For indifferent penmanship he would ad¬ 
mit no excuse, maintaining that haste in writing might not 
justify an illegible MS. His private communications were 
conceived in the same measured style which was exhibited 
in his public writings, unless when he censured a printer 
for a typographical blunder, or charged against some literary 
charlatan. 

David Irving was born at Langholm, Dumfriesshire, on 
the 5th December 1778. From both parents he inherited 
a yeoman descent; but his father was a trader. The 
youngest of five sons, he was educated with a view to 
the ministry. In 1796 he entered the University of Edin¬ 
burgh, and in j8oi graduated in arts. Before the latter 
date he published his “ Life of Robert Fergusson, with 
a Critique on his Works.” This literary performance he 
dedicated to Dr Robert Anderson, editor of the “British 
Poets.” At the age of twenty-three he produced his 
“ Elements of English Composition,” a work which, being 
adopted as a school-book, has passed into many editions. 
The intention of entering the ministry was abandoned, 
and under the encouragement of Dr Robert Anderson, 
whose daughter he afterwards married, he commenced the 
career of a man of letters. In 1804 appeared his “Lives 
of the Scotish Poets,” in two octavo volumes. Concern- 


MEN I HA VE ICNO WN. 


113 


ing this work, he writes in a letter to myself in October 
j 843 : “ The Lives of the Scotish Poets were written ‘yore 
agone in mine undaunted youth/ and exhibit too many 
marks of a premature publication.” The self-criticism is 
unjust; for the “ Lives ” evince an extent of research, a ma¬ 
turity of reflection, and a power of composition altogether 
marvellous, when it is remembered that the author had not 
passed his twenty-sixth birthday. The work is held as 
an authority, and is a principal basis of the author’s 
fame. During 1805 he published his “ Memoirs of George 
Buchanan,” which attracted the attention and praise of 
Principal Brown, Dr John Hunter, and other Scottish 
scholars. In 1808 he received the degree of LL.D. from 
Marischal College. 

For some years Dr Irving received into his house in 
Edinburgh young gentlemen as boarders, and gave instruc¬ 
tions in the Civil Law. In 1820 he was elected Principal 
Keeper of the Advocates Library—an office of high respon¬ 
sibility and respectable emolument. He continued to devote 
his leisure to the illustration of Scottish literary history, 
editing various works for the Bannatyne and Maitland 
Clubs, and contributing many important articles in Scottish 
biography to the seventh edition of the “ Encyclopaedia 
Britannica.” In 1837 he published his “Introduction to 
the Study of the Civil Law.” From his duties as Librarian 
he retired in 1848; his latter years were dedicated to clas¬ 
sical studies, and to the society of his friends. Lie died, 


m 


MEN I HA VE KNOWN 


after a short illness, on the ioth May i860, in his 82c! year. 
His “History of Scotish Poetry,” on which he had been 
engaged upwards of thirty years, was published posthum¬ 
ously. 

An anecdote connected with Dr Irving’s prevailing pecu¬ 
liarity—a love of literary order—may be related : Within a 
few hours of his decease, his eye rested on a lately-acquired 
copy of Josephus, which stood on one of the book-shelves 
which clothed the apartment. He requested that one of 
the volumes might be handed to him; he tried to read, but 
the book fell from his grasp. He then desired that it 
might be returned to its place. When this was done, he 
expressed himself impatiently, and it was observed that it 
had been pushed in too far. The position was corrected, 
and he was satisfied. 

With Dr Thomas Dick, author of “ The Christian Philo¬ 
sopher,” and other esteemed works, chiefly astronomical, I 
became acquainted at an early age. By a relative I was in¬ 
troduced to him in his Observatory at Broughty Ferry, 
in my seventeenth year; I retained a pleasant recollection 
of his amenity, and when, twelve years afterwards, I ob¬ 
served in a newspaper that his circumstances were reduced, 
I considered how I might relieve him. Communicating 
with the venerable gentleman, he favoured me with a state¬ 
ment of his affairs, together with a narrative of the sums he 
had received from publishers for the copyrights of his works. 
This interesting document I have unhappily mislaid; but, 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


115 


if my memory does not betray me, it supplied the informa¬ 
tion, that he had received less than a thousand pounds 
for works which would have yielded him, had he retained 
the copyrights, twenty times the amount. From no British 
publisher had he obtained any pecuniary acknowledgment 
beyond the amount of payment originally stipulated. 
American publishers had been more generous, and he 
had received from Transatlantic admirers many substantial 
tokens of regard. 

Dr Dick was now (1855) in his eighty-first year. For 
nearly half-a-century he had subsisted on his copyrights, gifts 
from America, occasional grants from the Royal Literary 
Fund, and the profits of leasing his marine villa to sea- 
bathers during the months of summer. But he had been 
unable to make provision for old age, though his principal 
meal daily for forty years was bread and milk. Efforts 
had been repeatedly made to secure him a pension on the 
Civil List, but hitherto unsuccessfully. Another effort might 
prove fortunate, and, at his advanced age, no time was to 
be lost. On his behalf I prepared a memorial to the Prime 
Minister: it was subscribed by men of science throughout 
the kingdom. By Sir Thomas Makdougal Brisbane, Pre¬ 
sident of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, it was forwarded 
to Lord Panmure for presentation. The prayer was sup¬ 
ported by Lord Duncan, Scottish Lord of the Treasury, the 
Hon. Arthur Kinnaird, Sir John Ogilvy, Mr Charles Cowan, 
and other members of the House of Commons. At first 


116 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


Dr Dick was offered ^io a year from the Compassionate 
Fund, which, on my recommendation, he declined. Soon 
after Lord Palmerston granted him ^50 a year on the Civil 
List—a boon which was most gratefully acknowledged. 
But the aged philosopher did not long enjoy the royal 
bounty; he died on the 29th July 1857, at the age of 
eighty-three. I had made a promise that should I sur¬ 
vive him, I would spare no effort to secure a pension to 
his widow. It was my privilege to accomplish what I 
had undertaken; and for the valuable aid which I expe¬ 
rienced on this occasion from Mr Cowan, M.P., and from 
my relative, Sir John Ogilvy, I desire now to record a be¬ 
coming acknowledgment. The career of Dr Dick may be 
described as a life-long sacrifice. The son of a linen manu¬ 
facturer at Dundee, he was born in that town on the 24th 
November 1774. Educated for the ministry of the Seces¬ 
sion Church, he was at an early age called to the pastorate 
of a congregation at Stirling. His ministerial services were 
most acceptable; but, not long after his settlement, he 
invited deprivation by acknowledging himself chargeable 
with an unclerical offence. He now devoted himself to 
teaching—first at Methven in Perthshire, afterwards at 
Perth. In 1827 he built a cottage at Broughty Ferry, near 
Dundee, in which he resided during the remainder of his 
life. At the top of the building, an apartment was fitted up 
as an Observatory, and provided with valuable telescopes 
and other astronomical instruments. 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


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With Dr Dick I maintained a correspondence during the 
two years which preceded his death, and he paid me a visit 
at Stirling. He was an unpretending, amiable, and friendly 
man, most willing to communicate information, and most 
desirous of encouraging those who evinced scientific and 
literary tastes. He had a strong feeling of independence, 
and had long refused to sanction the efforts of his friends 
in procuring a public recognition of his services. His con¬ 
versation partook of the character of his works—he rejoiced 
in simple words to express his deep sense of the Divine 
goodness. His letters abounded in pious sentiment. On 
the 19th November 1856, he thus wrote to me, in reference 
to the Scottish Literary Institute , which I had lately estab¬ 
lished, and of which he was a member : “ As it is enjoined 
upon us by the highest authority that we should acknow¬ 
ledge God in all our ways, I should consider it as highly 
expedient that all the meetings should be opened with 
prayer to God for direction and guidance. This is not 
customary in literary associations, but it cannot on that 
account be improper. We are too apt to consider secular 
and religious objects as essentially distinct, whereas they are 
only parts of one system, and every action we perform, if 
performed aright and from proper motives, should be con¬ 
sidered as a part of religion.” 

To Dr Dick’s writings, Dr Livingstone, the celebrated 
traveller, was indebted for his conversion. And many 
others who now occupy useful positions in the Chris- 


118 


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tian Church have ascribed their spiritual awakening to a 
perusal of one or other of his publications. In the United 
States his works exercised a wide and most beneficial influ¬ 
ence ; nor has that influence materially diminished. Dr 
Dick finished his career as became one who had so long 
borne his cross and brought the message of peace and 
resignation to others. “ I have been much troubled,” he 
said to a clerical friend ; “ without were fightings, and within 
fears, but now I can say all is well.” These were his last 
words. 

Dr John Reid, of St Andrews, the eminent physiologist, 
was another of my early friends. In my eighteenth year 
I called to consult him as to the state of my health. I 
described my symptoms very minutely, making use of some 
medical phrases. Having examined my pulse, and applied 
the stethoscope, he inquired what medical book I had been 
reading? I named the book. “ Throw it into the fire,” 
he said, “and in a week come back.” I returned to report 
that my health was improved. “ Beware of medical books,” 
he said, smilingly, “ and you’ll get quite strong.” Thus 
commenced my acquaintance with one of the most genial 
and upright men I ever knew. 

John Reid was a native of Bathgate, a town which pro¬ 
duced another eminent physician, afterwards to be named. 
He was born on the 9th April 1809. His father, who was 
a cattle-dealer in good circumstances, gave him the best 
elementary education which the locality could afford,and sent 


MEN I HA VE KNOWN 


119 


him as a student to the University of Edinburgh. In 1825 
he entered on his medical studies \ he became surgeon in 
1829, and doctor of medicine in the year following. He 
subsequently attended anatomical lectures and demonstra¬ 
tions in the medical schools of Paris. In 1833 he accepted 
an invitation to become partner in the Edinburgh Anatomi¬ 
cal School, along with Dr Knox and Mr William Fergusson. 
His duties were those of demonstrator, which implied his 
continual attendance in the dissecting room. From this 
irksome situation he was relieved in 1836, when he was 
appointed physiological lecturer in the Edinburgh Extra 
Academical School. In 1838 he became Pathologist to the 
Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, and in 1841 was preferred to 
the chair of Anatomy at St Andrews. This latter appoint¬ 
ment afforded him an opportunity for deliberate study, such 
as, without abridging his hours of rest, he had not hitherto 
enjoyed. 

Under his predecessor, Dr Briggs, the Anatomical chair at 
St Andrews was a sinecure, but Dr Reid not only prepared 
a course of anatomical lectures for those who might enrol 
themselves in his class, but delivered a popular course on 
physiology, to which, free of charge, he invited both students 
and citizens. In connection with these public lectures Dr 
Reid obtained golden opinions; while he promoted a taste 
for physiological inquiry at St Andrews, which was alto¬ 
gether new. It was expected that he would attain the 
highest honours of his profession. 


120 


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But a cloud was looming. In the month of November 
1847, a small blister appeared on his tongue, which ere long 
betrayed symptoms of cancer. In the following autumn he 
submitted to a surgical operation, himself assisting his friend 
Professor Fergusson in the excruciating process. I met him 
on his return to St Andrews, and we had some conversation 
on his malady, and the attempted cure. He articulated with 
difficulty, but his utterances indicated cheerful resignation. 
It was evident he entertained little hope of ultimate re¬ 
covery. To a period of the severest suffering, patiently 
borne, death came as a merciful deliverer on the 30th July 
1849. During the latter years of his life he had been 
closely preparing for the eternal world. A sincere and 
devout believer, he accepted his affliction as a salutary 
chastisement. He had inflicted pain on the inferior ani¬ 
mals that he might discover the functions of the “ Eighth 
Pair of Nerves,” and he regarded the pain which he person¬ 
ally endured as a heaven-sent message, warning him that 
such cruelties were obnoxious to the Supreme. When he 
knew that his days were hastening rapidly to a close, and 
while he was obliged to have recourse to opiates to relieve 
the gnawing severity of his malady, he prepared for the 
Press his “ Physiological, Anatomical, and Pathological 
Researches,” a work which was published posthumously. 
Of a tall, well-knit figure, with a fresh ruddy countenance, 
and broad massive forehead, Dr Reid, till his last illness, 
bore the aspects of physical and intellectual strength. His 


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121 


manner was gentle and pleasing; in general conversation 
he did not much join, but he was in private abundantly 
sociable. 

A memoir of Dr Reid was prepared by Dr George Wilson, 
of Edinburgh. The work, which is to be procured at a 
moderate price, is a most instructive Christian biography.* 
With Dr Wilson, the author of the memoir, I enjoyed a 
short but most pleasant intercourse. I can recall his genial 
demeanour, as seated in his laboratory he was ready to dis¬ 
cuss any subject which might be brought to his notice. 
Like his friend Reid, Dr Wilson was long a silent worker 
till he emerged suddenly into reputation and eminence. I 
do not recollect of any one whose career was more meteoric. 
Till within one or two years of his appointment as Professor 
of Technology at Edinburgh, the lay world knew of George 
Wilson only as a skilful chemist, whose opinion in matters 
of analysis was entitled to respect. But at length the truth 
dawned that the analyst of Surgeons’ Hall was capable of 
illustrating the arts, both industrial and recondite, with a 
power and precision and eloquence seldom surpassed. In 
1855 he was appointed first keeper of the Edinburgh In¬ 
dustrial Museum, as the one man in Scotland pre-eminently 
fitted to occupy and adorn so responsible an office, while a 
University Professorship was created for his use. Besides, 
it was found that if an orator was needed to arouse the 

* “Life of Dr John Reid, by George Wilson, M.D.” Edinburgh, 
1852. i2mo. 


122 


MEN I HA VE KNOWN. 


citizens to ardour, industrious, or social, or patriotic, none 
was so effective as that quiet, thoughtful chemist, who had 
so unexpectedly stepped from his laboratory into fame. 

On the 22d November 1859, George Wilson, the in¬ 
genious philosopher and pleasing poet, sunk into his rest. 
He was only forty-one,—-just a year older than John Reid, 
whom in all respects, save in a robust frame, he strikingly 
resembled. Both were industrious workers, loving work for 
its own sake, and indifferent to its rewards. Both were 
generous and open-hearted. Both were great physical 
sufferers—for Wilson was a prey to acute sickness, and had 
suffered, without an anaesthetic, the amputation of his foot. 
Both were men of piety—Reid during his latter years— 
Wilson during his whole life. Both, it may be added, have 
found appropriate biographers—Reid in his friend Wilson— 
and Wilson in an accomplished and loving sister. 

From Professor George Wilson, it is no violent transition to 
name another Professor of Edinburgh College, who was like¬ 
wise cut off in the midst of a most useful and important career. 
I refer to Dr James Robertson, Professor of Church History, 
but better known as Convener of the Endowment Scheme 
of the Established Church. With this admirable man I was 
well acquainted during his last years. The personal aspects 
of Dr Robertson were not prepossessing. In person short 
and stout, his countenance had a thoughtful cast, but was 
withal stern and even austere. His voice was harsh, and his 
brogue the worst sort of that worst of all dialects—the 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


123 


Buchan. His talk on any theme which interested him was 
protracted, and his sermons and orations were most lengthy. 
He was prone to take offence, and when offended, was not 
slow in the expression of his resentment. 

This is one side of the picture. Of Dr Robertson in 
other respects, it is difficult to keep within the bounds of 
ordinary laudation. A man of powerful intellect, his per¬ 
severance was enormous. No individual minister of the 
Established Church, since the days of Knox, did more 
“ to lengthen her cords and strengthen her stakes.” If he 
did not plant churches, he rendered secure and permanent 
those which had been designated. Under his advocacy, 
thousands of pounds were secured for the endowment of 
chapels in localities where religious ordinances were greatly 
needed, but where there were no means of supporting either 
ministers or missionaries. 

Dr Robertson possessed the art of procuring money for 
his “ scheme” in a degree altogether unparalleled. He did 
not make successful raids only on the pockets of the liberal 
and open-hearted. These were of course approached in the 
first instance. But the penurious and the miserly also 
opened their treasures and placed them at the feet of the 
Scottish apostle. Twenty-three years ago, I was visiting a 
friend in a rural parish about the centre of Fifeshire. In 
the neighbourhood lived an opulent miserly landowner, who 
had not presented himself in the house of prayer for many 
years, who never saw company, and lived in his old mansion 




124 MEN I HA VE KNOWN. 

with few attendants, and apparently actuated by aspirations 
no higher than those of adding house to house and field to 
field. Dr Robertson, it was asserted, had boldly approached 
the citadel and been admitted. How he succeeded in 
effecting an entrance, no one knew. But this was not all, for 
he likewise found admission into the laird’s old miserly 
heart. In a short time it was announced in the public > 

journals, that - -, Esq., had contributed several 

hundreds to the Endowment Scheme. 

Somewhere in the vale of Lochleven, dwelt a narrow, 
rich old squire, whose premises were walled in as if to bid 
defiance to the cravings of the outer world, and of whom it 
was said that he never performed a deed of charity or inclined 
an ear to the tale of distress. Dr Robertson came to the 
neighbourhood in prosecution of his mission. “ Will he 
attack laird-?” was a jocular observation, as a proceed¬ 

ing totally beyond the bounds of reasonable belief. But 
what was the surprise of the neighbourhood when it was re¬ 
lated that Dr Robertson had actually been seen along with 
the hard-hearted laird, looking from the interior wall of his 
inclosures, while both were smiling together as in chiefest 
amity and most cordial friendship. The sequel may be 
guessed. There was a handsome addition to the Endow¬ 
ment Fund. An elderly miser had been induced by Dr 
Robertson to make promise that he would endow a chapel; 
but on the appointment of a clergyman, the capital was not 
forthcoming. On approaching the miser, the managers of 






MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


125 


the chapel received only fair promises along with a variety 
of excuses for non-payment. At length Dr Robertson was 
appealed to. He intimated his intention of visiting the 
neighbourhood, and was invited by the miserly gentleman to 
take up quarters at his house. Within a week the endow¬ 
ment was completed. 

A landowner of surly temper, and most unapproachable, 
had resisted all attempts on his finance in connection with 
the Endowment Scheme. Several gentlemen of the locality 
accompanied Dr Robertson to the vicinity of his residence, 
where they halted in ambush, while the champion of en¬ 
dowment marched up to the front door of the mansion- 
house. The man-servant appeared—there was a parley— 
a little delay—and Dr Robertson was admitted. “ He has 
got in,” exclaimed the friends. And he remained within 
for some hours. At length the door opened, and the laird 
bid his guest a frank and friendly adieu. “ Well, Doctor ! 
good news, I hope,” said one and all. “ I have got,” said 
Robertson, “five hundred pounds.” No other man in 
Scotland would have extracted a crown. 

Dr Robertson attended meetings of Presbyteries and 
Synods, and by stirring addresses aroused on behalf of his 
cause the energies of the clergy. An interesting speaker he 
was not; but there was a moral and an intellectual force 
about him which was resistless. To his addresses one 
could listen for hours without a feeling that the speaker 
had been tedious, or had on his subject said more than was 


126 


MEN I HA VE KNOIVN 


needful. Anecdotes he had none. He used no figures of 
speech; he seldom indulged in illustrations; he did not, 
more than naturally arose from his line of argument, refer to 
the higher motives for sustaining the cause of the Gospel. 
But he was strictly logical and profoundly practical. From 
his subject he might depart for a time, and those who knew 
him not might have concluded that the thread of his dis¬ 
course was lost; but he was sure to return, bringing to his 
argument new and redoubled force. His speeches were 
like the mountain stream which arises in a crevice of the 
topmost rock, and is constantly augmented by the contri¬ 
butions of other hill-streams, till it becomes a vast torrent, 
sweeping all before it into the river channel, and thence 
into the estuary or the ocean. 

James Robertson was son of a farmer at Ardlaw, in the 
parish of Pitsligo and county of Aberdeen. He was born 
on the 2d of January 1803, and at the age of twelve was 
enrolled as a student of Marischal College, Aberdeen. In 
1825 he was elected schoolmaster of his native parish, and 
in other three years was preferred to the head mastership of 
Gordon’s Hospital, Aberdeen. To the church of Ellon he 
was appointed in 1832. From the first he preached with¬ 
out notes, and with that power and energy which charac¬ 
terised all his public appearances, whether in the pulpit or 
on the platform. In the non-intrusion controversy he took 
part with the Conservative section of the Church, and be¬ 
came the chief auxiliary of Dr George Cook in withstanding 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


127 


in the General Assembly the formidable logic of Dr Chal¬ 
mers and Dr Cunningham. By Dr Chalmers he was re¬ 
garded as one of the ablest of his ecclesiastical opponents, 
and one of the best intellects in the Church. After the 
Disruption of 1843, he was promoted to the Chair of 
Church History at Edinburgh, as successor to Dr Welsh, 
and was appointed Secretary to the Bible Board. These 
offices afforded him the leisure needful for the prosecution 
of his great “ scheme.” How he conducted the duties of 
that “ scheme ” has been partially related. But I may not 
attempt in this passing manner to set forth his abundant 
labours. These were prosecuted incessantly and often with 
the lack of proper rest, till they silently undermined a con¬ 
stitution naturally robust. Dr Robertson was attacked with 
symptoms of illness, which clearly proceeded from excess of 
work. The best medical aid proved unavailing, and on the 
2d December i860, in his fifty-eighth year, he entered into 
his rest. His premature decease was a cause of mourning 
in all the churches. Though he did not survive to com¬ 
plete his great scheme, he enjoyed a fair earnest of its 
accomplishment. By his labours many desolate localities 
were blessed with a provision for the supply of ordinances, 
and a nucleus was formed, since, in many instances filled 
up, for an endowment of all the chapels. 

A vigorous and untiring worker, Dr James Robertson 
was likewise a man of prayer. When he entered on his 
ministry, he solemnly consecrated himself to God, and 


128 


MEN I HA VE KNOWN. 


resolved by daily prayer to entreat the Divine help. He 
kept his resolution. I met him on two occasions when we 
were both itinerating on behalf of public objects. He was 
holding public meetings and canvassing the opulent in sup¬ 
port of his great “scheme.” I was awakening public interest 
in the work of commemorating, by public memorials, those 
who had contended in the national defence and struggled in 
the cause of letters. On these occasions I could hardly 
conceal my emotion, for I felt deeply that the cause of my 
illustrious friend was so much better than my own. 

Hugh Miller was, like Dr James Robertson, a native of 
the north. They somewhat resembled personally. Each 
had a rugged countenance, with a decided intellectual 
expression ; each was careless about the graces of utter¬ 
ance, and had a harsh and unmusical intonation. Each, it 
may be added, executed heartily whatever he undertook. 
With Hugh Miller I had only a single interview: it was in 
the office of the Witness newspaper, when he subscribed the 
memorial for a civil-list pension to Dr Dick. His conver¬ 
sation impressed me favourably as to his kindly nature. 
He was very plainly attired in his favourite shepherd tartan 
dress, in which, with a plaid of the same stuff, and the 
geologist’s hammer in the right side pocket, he was often 
to be seen on the streets of Edinburgh. 

Hugh Miller might not in any garb disguise his intellec¬ 
tual superiority. He had a large head, with a brow square 
and massive, surmounted by a profusion of thick sand- 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


129 


coloured hair. His eyes were bright and penetrating. 1 
sat beside him in the Edinburgh Royal Society when a 
paper was read by the Duke of Argyll : he was profoundly 
attentive. He latterly consented to deliver lectures to the 
public institutions; but his manner was unsuited for the 
lecture-desk. His utterance was constrained ; he spoke in 
the Cromarty dialect, and his pronunciation was most faulty. 

A native of Cromarty, Hugh Miller was born on the ioth 
October 1802. His father, who was master of a small 
trading vessel, perished at sea during his childhood. He 
was educated at the grammar-school by two maternal 
uncles, who urged him to adopt a learned profession; but 
he selected the humble craft of a stone-mason. As an 
operative stone-hewer in the old red sandstone quarries of 
Cromarty, he achieved those discoveries in that formation 
which fixed a new epoch in geological science. By com¬ 
posing verses at his evening hours, he relieved the toils of 
labour, and varied the routine of geological inquiry. He ob 
tained employment in cutting and lettering gravestones; and 
in the prosecution of this branch of his craft, he, in 1828, pro¬ 
ceeded to Inverness. In that place, his literary aspirations 
were encouraged by Mr Robert Carruthers of the Inverness 
Courier , in whose journal he first appeared as a writer. 
His literary talents became known, and he ventured to 
produce a work chiefly founded on local traditions. The 
volume appeared in 1835, under the title of “Scenes and 

Legends of the North of Scotland.” About the same time 

1 


130 


MEN I HA VE KNOWN 


lie was appointed accountant in a bank at Cromarty, and 
improved his domestic condition by marrying a lady of 
literary tastes, who had, while he was practising his trade, 
discovered his genius and frequented his society. 

In the veto controversy which agitated the Established 
Church, the bank accountant at Cromarty took a deep in¬ 
terest. He warmly supported the cause of the evangelical 
party, and, in 1839, on the adverse decision of the House of 
Lords in the Auchterarder case, produced a pamphlet on the 
popular side in the form of a “ Letter to Lord Brougham.” 
This production excited immediate attention, and the author 
was invited to undertake the editorship of the newly pro¬ 
jected Witness newspaper. On his editorial duties Mr 
Miller entered in 1840, and his power was at once felt. 
Had his services been retained sooner, it might, for the 
interests of his party, have been better. As a contro¬ 
versialist, he excelled, combining force of argument with 
keen and crushing satire. But he will be remembered 
chiefly as a geologist. His “ Old Red Sandstone,” a book 
of charming English, and embodying important scientific 
discoveries, appeared in 1841. Next followed his “First 
Impressions of England and its People.” His “Footprints 
of the Creator,” in reply to the “Vestiges of the Natural 
History of the Creation,” was published in 1849. 1855 

he issued his “Schools and Schoolmasters,” a work descrip¬ 
tive of events in the history of his career as a craftsman. 
■“ The Testimony of the Rocks,” the most original and ex- 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


131 


haustive of all his scientific works, appeared posthumously. 
A martyr to brain disease, he died by a pistol-shot inflicted 
by his own hand, on the 24th December 1856. His pre¬ 
mature decease was regarded as a national calamity. The 
newspaper which he conducted did not long survive him; 
it was for its vitality mainly indebted to his terse and 
vigorous writing. As a man of science, Hugh Miller was 
an honour to his country. 

Another distinguished Scotsman was my late noble friend 
James, eighth Earl of Elgin. With this distinguished noble¬ 
man I became acquainted in 1856, when I had the honour 
of inviting him to preside at an open-air meeting for the 
public inauguration of the movement for raising a national 
monument to Wallace on the Abbey Craig. His lordship 
consented to undertake the duty which I had ventured to 
assign to him ; and from what immediately followed, I was 
led to form that high estimate of his honour which I have 
now the pleasure to record. No sooner was the announce¬ 
ment made that he had consented to preside at the pro¬ 
posed demonstration, than representations were made to 
him that the undertaking to which he had lent his support 
must inevitably result in fruitless effort or disgraceful failure. 
Those who so communicated were influential; their state¬ 
ments were emphatic and precise ; and living at Stirling and 
its neighbourhood, they had the best opportunities of being 
informed. To his lordship I was a stranger, and, under 
the circumstances, most persons in his position would have 


132 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


devised some ingenious excuse, and thereupon retired. 
But his lordship, anxious if possible to fulfil his pledge, 
was frank and open with me. It had been represented, he 
said, that no speakers from a distance would take part in 
the proceedings. It was difficult to assure his lordship to 
the contrary, for while our opponents stated to him on the 
one hand that no notable speaker would be present, they, 
on the other, communicated with the speakers as they were 
successively announced, assuring them that Lord Elgin 
had changed his mind. Nearly all the speakers credited 
these assurances, and sent letters of excuse. Lord Elgin 
remained firm. He was attended by Sir David Brewster, 
Cluny Macpherson, and some other notables. The meet¬ 
ing was held in the King’s Park, Stirling, on the 24th of 
June 1856, when twenty thousand persons were present. 
Lord Elgin made a noble oration, which essentially pro¬ 
moted the national enthusiasm. The success of the move¬ 
ment was no longer doubtful. 

Lord Elgin was son of James Bruce, seventh Earl of 
Elgin, by his second wife, the youngest daughter of James 
T. Oswald, Esq. of Dunnikier. He was born in Park Lane, 
London, in 1811, and was educated at Eton and Christ 
Church. He was distinguished as a classical scholar, and 
completed his academical career as Fellow of Merton 
College. In 1841 he married the only daughter of Charles 
Lennox Cumming Bruce, Esq., whose grandfather, on the 
mother’s side, was the Abyssinian traveller. As Lord 


MEN I HA VE KNOIVN. 


133 


Bruce, he was returned to Parliament for Southampton; but 
having, in 1842, on the death of his father, succeeded to 
the family honours as Earl of Elgin and Kincardine, he 
had to resign his seat as a commoner without being en¬ 
titled, as a Scottish Peer, to sit in the Elouse of Lords. 
In this anomalous position he sought colonial employment, 
and was offered by Sir Robert Peel and Lord Stanley the 
office of Governor of Jamaica. In 1846 he was appointed, 
by the Whig Government, Governor of Canada. During the 
eight years that he presided in that colony, he distinguished 
himself by a conciliatory policy, and by actively develop¬ 
ing the resources of the country. In acknowledgment of 
his services, he was in 1849 honoured with a British peerage. 

During the year 1856, Lord Elgin remained at Broom 
Hall, his Scottish seat. In 1857 he was appointed am¬ 
bassador to China. On his way thither, he received 
information of the Indian mutiny, and at once gave 
instructions that the troops ordered to China should be 
despatched to Calcutta. The decision which he manifested 
on this occasion, new in the annals of diplomacy, imparted 
the highest indication yet afforded of his capability in 
meeting an emergency. His mission to China proved 
eminently successful. After the taking of Canton, he 
negotiated the treaty of Tien-tsin, which forms the basis 
of our present relations with the Celestial Empire. Return¬ 
ing to England, he was in 1859 appointed Postmaster 
General in the Government of Lord Palmerston. The 


134 


MEN I HA VE KNOWN. 


Chinese having proved unfaithful to their engagements, 
he proceeded on a second mission to China, which was 
attended by the humiliation of the Chinese, and the 
entrance in state into Pekin of the British representative. 
Soon after this triumph, Lord Elgin was appointed 
Governor-General of India. To the duties of this high 
office, he devoted himself with his wonted ardour and in¬ 
telligence. But a life of active usefulness was hastening to 
a close. He was assailed by a complication of disorders, 
culminating in disease of the heart. On the 6th Novem¬ 
ber 1863, he was informed by his medical attendant, that 
his complaint was mortal. He received the intimation 
with composure, only expressing some regret that he had 
not been spared to the accomplishment of certain duties. 
During his illness, which was often acute and prostrating, 
he bore himself meekly, and affirmed his entire con¬ 
fidence in the work of a Saviour. Some days before his 
death, he partook of the Holy Communion, and there¬ 
after desired Lady Elgin to select a spot for his grave in 
the cemetery at Dhurasala. He sent a message to the 
Queen, expressing his devotion to her service, and desired 
that his best blessing might be conveyed to the secretaries 
of the Indian Government. He died on the 30th November. 
One of the best representatives of the house of Bruce, and 
a most faithful and enlightened public servant, he had 
only reached his fifty-second year. The first Lady Elgin 
died in 1841, and his Lordship married secondly, in 1846, 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


135 


the fourth daughter of the first Earl of Durham, by whom 
he is survived. 

In the death of Lord Elgin, I felt that I had lost an 
honourable and true-hearted friend. Without show, with¬ 
out pretext, and seemingly unconscious of any superiority 
of rank, he delighted to serve all who seemed worthy of 
his regard. To the friends of his youth, irrespective of 
their worldly status, he attached himself with a cordial 
friendship. At Broom Hall, his family seat, he was be¬ 
loved by old and young. Before he proceeded to India, 
he was presented with his portrait at a public entertain¬ 
ment in Dunfermline, when the leading citizens took part 
in the demonstration. On his return from his first Chinese 
expedition, I had the honour, at Stirling, of bidding him 
welcome to Scotland. I shall not soon forget the cordiality 
of my reception. 

In person, Lord Elgin was above the middle height, 
and was strong, muscular, and well built. His face was 
large, with a finely arched forehead. His manner was 
frank and unrestrained. 

Lord Elgin had returned to Scotland when the adminis¬ 
trators of the Wallace Monument Fund were prepared to 
lay the foundation stone. Of course, his Lordship was 
requested to undertake the duty, but he suggested that 
some noted Scotsman, who had taken an active part in 
raising the funds, should share in the honours of the enter¬ 
prise. Sir Archibald Alison was selected, and, in approval 


13 6 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


of the nomination, and of the proceedings of the day, 
Lord Elgin sent from Broom Hall, the sword of King 
Robert the Bruce, to be carried in the procession. 

Sir Archibald Alison was younger son of the Rev. Archi¬ 
bald Alison, author of “ Essays on the Nature and Princi¬ 
ples of Taste.” At the period of his birth, his father was 
incumbent of Kenley, Shropshire. In the parsonage-house 
of that parish he was born, on the 29th December, 1792. 
His mother was the youngest daughter of Dr John Gregory 
of Edinburgh, and sister of the more celebrated Dr James 
Gregory. His progenitors on the father’s side belonged to 
the parish of Kettins, in Forfarshire. In 1800, his father 
removed to Edinburgh, of which he was a native, and 
became senior incumbent of St Paul’s Chapel, Cowgate. 
The future historian studied at the University of Edinburgh, 
and in 1814 was called to the bar. He did not at once 
devote himself to forensic practice, but entered on con¬ 
tinental travel, which he prosecuted at intervals for eight 
years. In 1823 he was, under the Conservative Govern¬ 
ment, appointed an advocate-depute, and he retained office 
till the close of the Wellington administration in 1830. 
On the return of the Conservatives to power in 1834 he 
was promoted as Sheriff of Lanarkshire. 

In 1832, Mr Alison published his “Principles of the 
Criminal Law of Scotland,” and not long after, his 
“ Practice of the Criminal Law.” But he had chiefly 
occupied his leisure in accumulating materials for his 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


137 


“History of Europe,” a work which he had projected in 
his twenty-second year. When, in 1833, the first volume 
of this work appeared, critics generally predicted that, 
notwithstanding certain inequalities of style, it would, on 
completion, secure the celebrity of the author. So it has 
proved, for Alison’s Europe, in twenty volumes, is, with its 
literary blemishes and minor errors, the most valuable 
history of the French Revolution, and of continental 
events since that period, which has been published. It 
was continued by the writer to the period of the Crimean 
War. 

The laborious industry which produced the “ History of 
Europe,” was duly acknowledged. In 1845, the author 
was elected Lord Rector of Marischal College, Aberdeen. 
By the students of Glasgow he was afterwards honoured 
with the rectorship of that university. In 1852 he was 
created a baronet; and the University of Oxford conferred 
on him the degree of Doctor of Civil Law. 

While sedulously devoting himself to literary research—a 
constant contributor to Blackwood's Magazine, and pro¬ 
ducing other works beside his History—Sir Archibald was 
most attentive to his duties as a magistrate. From eleven 
till four o’clock daily he was to be found in his Court, 
either seated on the bench, or discharging the other duties 
of his office. In his chambers I frequently visited him to 
obtain his friendly counsel or active help in resisting the 
annoyances to which, as secretary of the Wallace Monu- 


138 


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ment Committee, I was so constantly subjected. Mainly 
through his assistance the appropriate design of the 
monument, now executed, was rendered possible. 

Sir Archibald was influenced by no personal ambition; 
his patriotism was untainted by any grain of selfishness. 
When I invited him to preside at the laying of the Wallace 
Monument foundation-stone, he informed me that should 
any one of higher rank be found to undertake the duties, 
he would willingly retire. This statement he renewed in 
the following letter, with which he favoured me some ten 
days before the monumental celebration : 

/ 

“Glasgow, June 13, 1861. 

My Dear Doctor, 

“ I learn from Sir J. Maxwell Wallace that he is to be 
present at the Wallace Monument Demonstration, and the 
subsequent banquet. He is, I believe, lineally descended 
from the family of Sir William Wallace, and he is to give 
£100 to the monument, and his sister, Lady Fairlie, the 
same. Being a Lieut.-General, he will probably be the 
officer of the highest rank present, and he will therefore 
answer for the army. Of course, you will assign him a 
suitable position in the proceedings at the laying of the 
foundation-stone. To the toast ‘ Lord Clyde, Sir Hope 
Grant, and their companions in arms,’ my son Archy will, as 
you wish, make a reply. He is singularly enough nineteenth 
in direct descent from Robert Bruce. It will be curious 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


139 


to have two officers, descendants of Wallace and Bruce, 
brought forward on this occasion.* 

“ I will not shrink from the arduous and honourable 
duties which the committee design for me, if it is deemed 
in the interest of the meeting that I should do so. But I 
still think it is an honour much above my social position, 
and I would gladly yield to any popular nobleman who can 
speak, and resume my place as croupier. But I place 
myself entirely in your hands. 

“ I am, 

“ My Dear Doctor. 

“ Yours faithfully, 

“ A. Alison.” 

Sir Archibald was a zealous Freemason, and held the 
Provincial Grand Mastership. I was associated with him 
as a speaker, when a public building in Lanarkshire was 
inaugurated under masonic auspices. He was not par¬ 
ticularly happy, yet I felt, in mounting the rostrum as his 
successor, that my words were as icicles compared with 
those with which he had just electrified the assembly. He 
was, indeed, not essentially an orator. He lacked grace of 
delivery; his utterances were painfully monotonous, and he 
failed even in his most impassioned bursts to raise his voice 

* General Sir J. Maxwell Wallace was constituted Grand Marshal 
of the procession, the duties of which he discharged with military pre¬ 


cision. 


140 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


to a pitch befitting the character of his sentiments. At 
times, he was lengthy and painfully minute, especially when 
he dealt with figures and statistics, for which he retained an 
unhappy partiality. Yet his public speaking possessed a 
charm peculiarly its own. Patriotic ardour and a generous, 
gushing philanthropy pervaded and permeated his utter¬ 
ances. He delighted to set forth the intellectual and 
martial glory of old Scotland, and as he celebrated the 
poetic triumphs and heroic achievements of her sons, 
neither an expressive intonation nor muscular action were 
needed to arouse his auditory. Words more eloquent were 
not spoken at the Burns’ centenary celebration than the 
following, uttered by Sir Archibald, as president of the great 
banquet at Glasgow: 

“It is to few men only, and those in ages far distant from each other, 
that nature has given the passport to immortality ; and when she has 
done it, it is not on the great or the affluent that she in general has be¬ 
stowed the gift, but on the most humble and suffering of the human 
race. She gave it to the bard of Chios. As a blind and needy sup¬ 
plicant he wandered through the isles of Greece. She gave it to him 
of the Mantuan Lake, as he mourned the loss of his little freehold under 
the shadow of his wide-spreading beech-tree. She gave it to the exile 
of Florence, as by the waters of the Po he sat down and wept. She 
gave it to the prisoner of Ferrara, as in the gloom of his dungeon he 
mourned a hopeless love. She gave it to the republican of England, 
after he had, poor and unbefriended, 

*-dazzled by excess of light, 

Closed his eyes in endless night.’ 

But where was she to find a worthy recipient for such a gift among the 








MEN I HA VE KNOWN. 


141 


aged civilisation, and natural jealousies, and political passions of Europe 
at the close of the eighteenth century ? She looked for him in the halls 
of princes, but she found him not there. She looked for him in the 
senates of nobles, but she found him not there. She looked for him 
in the forums of commerce, but she found him not there. She looked 
for him in the solitude of nature and she found him beside the plough, 
with his eye fixed on the mountain daisy which spread its humble 
beauties beneath his feet.” 

Sir Archibald was peculiarly in his element at the Wallace 
celebration of 1861. Of his brilliant address I have selected 
a few portions, not more as illustrating the character of his 
eloquence, than the patriotic ardour of the speaker : 

“ What, then, shall we say to a monument which has been called for 
by the loud acclaim of his country six hundred years after his death, 
and is now reared under circumstances and with a unanimity which 
prove that it is indeed the voice of ages! Figure again in imagina¬ 
tion the scene we have this day witnessed. Recall to mind the 
Abbey Craig, which still looks down on the scene of his greatest 
triumph, studded with ardent and grateful patriots. Recollect the 
scene, the most beautiful in Europe, which the plain of Stirling, watered 
by the windings of the Forth, and shut in by the mountains, ‘ the native 
guardians of the land,’ now the abode of peace and happiness presents, 
and compare it in imagination with what the same scene exhibited six 
hundred years ago, when the troops of Wallace rushed down with 
terrible force on the legions of Edward, which had crossed the river, 
and the waters of the Forth ran red with English blood ! What has 
occasioned the wonderful and blessed change ? What has turned the 
scene of slaughter and desolation into the abode of peace and happi¬ 
ness, and caused the shepherd’s reed to be now alone heard on those 


142 


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plains which formerly rung with the trumpet of war ? What but the 
heroism of Wallace and the devotion of his followers, which compen¬ 
sated for all the disadvantages of number and discipline; and by the 
spirit they infused into Robert Brace, finally effected the deliverance of 
their country ! 

‘ For his lance was not shiver’d on helmet or shield; 

And his sword, which seem’d fit for archangel to wield, 

Was light in his terrible hand.’ 

But Wallace was not only a stalwart knight, a splendid Paladin ; he 
was also a great general, a consummate commander, else he never 
could, with forces not a fifth part of those to which he was opposed, 
and in the midst of a divided and broken people, have achieved the 
deliverance of his country in a single campaign, and driven the armies 
of England, ruined and dispersed, from the rock of Stirling across the 
Tweed. It is the best proof of his generalship that the manoeuvre by 
which he effected this victory—allowing half of the enemy’s forces to 
cross the river and then assailing them before the other half could get 
across—was exactly the same as that by which one of the greatest 
masters in the art of war, the Archduke Charles, five hundred years 
after, defeated Napoleon on the banks of the Danube, on the field of 
Aspern. What mind can now conceive, what tongue can now portray, , 
the blessings which their heroic stand have conferred, not merely on 
their own country, but evidently on their powerful and their hostile 
neighbours, and upon the united British Empire ! It has given us the 
inestimable blessing of independence—that blessing, the greatest which 
man can enjoy,—which must be taken and cannot be given. It has 
done more ; it has given union, strength, and happiness to the whole 
British Empire ; for, by preventing the subjugation by force, it has left 
room for the union by inclination. It is thus, and thus alone, that the 
pacification of Great Britain could have been rendered complete, and 
the empire raised to the exalted destinies designed for it by Providence. 


MEN / HA VE KNO WN. 


143 


The Scotch are proverbially a proud people ; and it is no wonder they 
are so, for they are almost the only people in modern Europe who have 
never been conquered. Other nations have been repeatedly subdued. 
The Romans, the Saxons, the Danes, the Normans, the Goths, the 
Saracens, have overrun their territories and enslaved their inhabitants ; 
but, though often pierced to the heart, the Scotch have never been per¬ 
manently subdued ; and within a few miles of this place, the mountain 
barrier of the Grampians tells us that within them the foot of the spoiler 
has never penetrated; that the language of their inhabitants—the lasting 
mark of conquest—has never been changed ; and that their hoary sum¬ 
mits saw the eagle of the legions, equally with the standards of the 
Plantagenet, roll back. 

* * * * * * * * 

“If Scotland," proceeded Sir Archibald, “had been conquered by 
her powerful neighbour—if the swords of Wallace and Bruce had not 
saved her from subjugation, she would have been to England what 
Poland is to Russia, what Hungary is to Austria, what Ireland, till 
within these few years, has been to England. She would have been a 
tower of weakness instead of strength—a thorn in her side instead of 
the right hand of her power. United now on a footing of perfect 
equality to England—strengthened on both sides by glorious recollec¬ 
tions—Great Britain has now formed a United Kingdom, which, securely 
cradled in the waves, has not seen the fires of an enemy’s camp since 
the Union ; and, instead of trembling as of old at the sea-kings of the 
north, has sent her victorious bands into the most distant parts of the 
earth, encircled it by her colonies, and entered in triumph the capitals 
of Paris and Madrid, Brussels and Munich, Lisbon and Copenhagen, 
Grand Cairo and Sebastopol, Washington and Delhi, Lucknow and 
Pekin ! 

* * ****** 

“ Great as have been the efforts of Wallace and Bruce on the subse- 


144 


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quent history and growth of the British Empire, their influences on the 
Scottish character and the deeds of her sons have been still more re¬ 
markable. It is to them that have been mainly owing that energy of 
mind, perseverance in difficulty, and martial spirit, by which Scotland 
has ever since been distinguished, and which has given her a place 
among the nations far beyond what population, wealth, or national 
resources could otherwise account for. This it is which has rendered 
the poetry of Burns as household words throughout the world—this it 
is which has rendered Scott the idol of every civilised nation. When 
Burns conceived the immortal lines : 

* Scots, wha hae wi’ Wallace bled, 

Scots, wham Bruce hae often led, 

Welcome to your gory bed. 

Or to Victory ! ’ 

he embodied in verse the noble feelings which the exploits we are this 
day assembled to commemorate must ever awaken in every generous 
mind, and have times immemorial prompted to noble deeds! How 
often have they glowed beneath the Scottish plaid on the eve of the 
most glorious actions, on the heights of Toulouse, on the field of 
Waterloo, in the trenches of Sebastopol, on the march of fire of Have¬ 
lock, in the assault of Lucknow ! Historic glory is the best inheritance 
of nations; a due appreciation of it their best security. But, like liberty, 
it must be taken, it cannot be given. Wallace died in taking it; but 
he left his mantle to his successors. As long as the spirit of this day 
lives in the breasts of his country, the precious legacy will not be lost. ” 

After a short illness, Sir Archibald Alison died on the 
23d of May 1867. No citizen of Glasgow was ever more 
sincerely lamented. In his decease every patriotic move¬ 
ment in the city lost an advocate, every benevolent institu¬ 
tion an effective pleader. Few men in a public office, and 



MEN I HA VE KNOWN. 


145 


of strong political sentiments gave less offence or were more 
conciliatory. Though he had possessed no eminence as a 
historical and controversial writer, or in any other public 
capacity, he would have been remembered as a generous 
citizen. 

Of equal geniality with the historian of Europe, and an 
illustrious orator, was my late friend, John Thomson Gordon, 
Sheriff of Midlothian. This accomplished man, whose star 
set much too soon, was son of John Gordon, M.D., a 
physician of some standing; he was born about the year 
1812. Called to the bar in 1835, he at once, from his bril¬ 
liant and captivating address, gave promise of eminence. 
In 1848 he was, by his uncle, Mr Andrew Rutherford, sub¬ 
sequently Lord Advocate, recommended to the office of 
Sheriff of Midlothian, and the appointment was bestowed 
upon him. Though Sheriff Gordon did not lay claim to 
extensive attainments as a lawyer, he discharged, so long 
as his health permitted, his magisterial duties with fidelity 
and intelligence. 

I became acquainted with Mr Gordon in 1852, when I 

was guest at a dinner of the Architectural Institute, of which, 

at that time, he was president. The Sheriff was then in his 

prime. Tall and well-formed, his appearance was elegant and 

commanding, and his manners, though abundantly hearty, 

were not deficient in dignity. As a chairman, he might 

not have been excelled. On every topic he spoke fluently 

and in appropriate words, while his fine sonorous voice 

K 


146 


MEN I HA VE KNOIVN. 


especially recommended him to his auditory. I met the 
Sheriff frequently, both on public occasions and in private 
society. In the qualities of social companionship he was 
unrivalled. From a fund of unfailing jocundity he electrified 
every company. His exuberant joyousness never forsook 
him; and at the close of a long meeting, when others were 
weary, he was still vigorous and eloquent. 

On the platform, the Sheriff was one of the most power¬ 
ful orators of his time ; among his Scottish contemporaries 
he had no equal. When he appeared as president of a 
meeting, he cast into the shade all who spoke after him. 
Were his speeches recovered and collected, they would hold 
a place among the best specimens of modern eloquence. I 
present a few short quotations from some of his best-known 
speeches. To the members of the Glasgow Athenaeum he 
spoke thus: 

“ Stands Scotland where it did; or from the most trivial domestic 
comfort to the highest constitutional privilege, do not ten thousand 
proofs attest our progress? You know that harvests wave their golden 
honours over the decayed forests and exhausted morasses of other times ; 
that the sleepless fires of mighty manufactures are illuminating the mid 
night of whole counties; that the white wings of commerce are bringing 
into your harbours—harbours deepened into the very centre of your 
cities—the whole treasures of the earth; that the facilities of inland 
communication are concentrating distant cities into suburban vicinity ; 
that the populousness of the country is being increased, while the vigour 
and independence of the national character is not diminished ; that the 
probity, and industry, and sagacity of Scotsmen are distributed and 


/ 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN. 


147 


scattered over the whole globe ; and that the desires and yearnings of 
the population for instruction and improvement are extending with a 
vehemence which has no parallel in history. ” 

At a meeting in the Music Hall of Edinburgh in 1852, 
he used these words : 

“What is Britain now? Her foot is upon every soil in Europe, 
Asia, America, and Africa—upon the islands of every wave in the 
Mediterranean, Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Seas. Her tributaries are 
kingdoms ; her colonies are as vast as continents ; her manufactures 
travel beyond the Chinese Wall; her commerce circulates with the 
ocean round the habitable globe ; and her language is not only wher¬ 
ever enterprise can pierce, or valour tread, or dauntless heroes can 
carry the Divine message of Christian truth ; but is the living tongue of 
myriads of a mighty people almost beyond her sway throughout the re¬ 
public of America, and is known among the dawning races of Australia, 
at the extremity of the African promontory, and at the base of Indian 
Himalaya.” 

At one of the banquets at Edinburgh in honour of the 
centenary of Burns, he thus spoke of Lord Brougham : 

“He is not with us, but depend upon it, and indeed we are sure, 
that his sympathies are not far away from a meeting which means to 
appreciate the sturdy independence and the blunt honesty of a nature 
on which the shadows of hypocrisy or duplicity never fell—a meeting 
which means to commemorate the victorious progress of an inborn 
vigour, which, against the barriers of social condition, ay, and even of 
individual temperament, held on its earnest way till glory filled the 
furrows of its plough—and a meeting which means to wreathe with 
green gratitude the wonderful achievements of that yEolian sensibility, 
which, placed in the window of a peasant’s breast, vibrated to every 


148 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN. 


whispering air or stirring breeze, or even stormy gust, which moves 
man’s strange and chequered life, and gave back the exquisite melody, 
of which the undying echoes have been, and will be, wafted over ‘a’ 
the airts the wind can blaw ’ till time shall cease to be. Brougham is 
not with us, but I see him now, the Demosthenes of Britain, as he sits 
on the shore of the bright Mediterranean and reviews across its tideless 
mirror the magnificent renown and the terrible ruin of which the colossal 
annals, from the pillars of Hercules to the blue Symplegades, strew the 
whole margin of its waters. 

‘ Thy shores are empires, changed in all save thee, 

Assyria, Rome, Greece, Carthage, what are they? 

Thy waters wasted them while they were free. 

And many a tyrant since.’ 

And I hear him murmur to this unchangeable witness of the awful 
vicissitudes of nations and kingdoms—‘Does, then, the past always 
teach us the future? for if the free and brilliant race who conquered at 
Marathon—the Bannockburn of Greece—and if the majestic and proud 
people who survived Cannae, the Flodden of Italy, are now crumbled 
into littleness almost worse than nothingness, shall I fear or may I hope 
for my own grand country ? But it is not for the sea, but for us our¬ 
selves, his countrymen and his fellow-citizens, to answer his query, and 
I think we may bid him be of good cheer ; or at all events I think we 
may tell him with a cheerful pride that there has not often lived in the 
world any man who more truly than Henry Brougham, looking back 
with an undimmed eye through a retrospect of fourscore years, can 
track the steady and large improvement of his country by the very foot¬ 
prints of his own luminous and indefatigable career. . . . He has 

invaded tyranny in all its citadels, and shaken all its arsenals, and settled 
the sunshine of the standard of freedom both upon the heights and downs 
in the valley of humanity. He has torn bigotry into very tatters, and 
let in the comfort of the light of common sense even through the 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN. 


149 


densest theological atmosphere ; and he has warred with ignorance 
under every shape and in every recess, and planted, and watered, and 
cherished, till its fruits were ripe and mellow for the taste and nourish¬ 
ment of all, the blessed tree of general knowledge. I do think that the 
man who has done all this may well hope, and need not fear for his 
country, which by its whole life shows that the lessons of Brougham 
have entered deeply into the convictions, the aspirations, and the daily 
habits of its people. And therefore I shall, in all our names, bid the 
currents of the ocean carry to that old man eloquent, upon the shore of 
the great inland deep, our heartiest thanks and good wishes, and our 
belief that when he obeys the doom to which we all must yield, even if 
no temple, or column, or memorial tomb shall mark his resting-place, 
he needs none of them who shall be known in after times as a man 
who can feel on his deathbed that, largely by his means, man, his 
brother, in his native land, stands at this hour more erect and free 
before God and his fellow-man.” 

At a public meeting convened at Edinburgh to express 
abhorrence at the assassination of President Lincoln, Sheriff 
Gordon said: 

“ I am not here to hold any balance between contending parties on 
topics where there must be diversity of opinion. I am here to hurl the 
unanimous verdict of all mankind against an enormous and intolerable 
wrong, which darkens us all with its gloom. I am here in the name of 
outraged humanity to deplore and denounce a crime which nothing can 
palliate—an unwarrantable, a licentious, a brutal crime, which the 
laws alike of God and man brand with their warning stigma, and smite 
with their avenging justice. It is an act of foul rebellion against the 
holiest instincts and the holiest convictions within us. It is the blind 
violence of an idiot, who imagines by the sudden flash of his interposi¬ 
tion to frustrate or foil the issues of what is to come, of which the deep 


150 


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foundations have been laid, and the irreversible paths have been traced 
by a prescient Wisdom utterly beyond and above our ken. He might 
as well try to stem with his hand the torrents of Niagara.” 

One who could so eloquently express himself would un¬ 
questionably have excelled as an author. But Sheriff 
Gordon lacked the concentrativeness necessary to the 
production of a great work. For social fellowship, it was 
often said, he sacrificed powers which might have been 
more usefully employed. This may have been; yet who 
will forget an evening spent in the companionship of John 
Thomson Gordon ! Personal celebrity he sought not; he 
was content to be recollected by his friends. After the 
publication of the memoirs of her father, Professor Wilson, 
by Mrs Gordon, I remarked to the Sheriff that I liked the 
work both from its substance and style. He said, “ Mrs 
Gordon had no assistance from me; she would not have 
accepted any. I am charmed with the book, and desire 
only to be remembered as her husband.” He said this with 
deep feeling. 

By the late Prince Consort, Mr Gordon was honoured 
with a cordial friendship. I met him not long after the 
Prince’s death, and took occasion to refer to the event.” 
“ Don’t speak of it,” he said, feelingly. “ I have lamented 
him as a brother. No man knew I more intimately or 
understood better. I shall never cease to lament him.” 

The Sheriff was for some years unable fully to discharge 
his magisterial duties. He afterwards rallied, but his con- 


MEN I HA VE KNOWN 


151 


stitution was permanently impaired. In the autumn of 
1865 he proceeded to Caen, in Normandy, in the hope of 
benefiting by the change. He died suddenly at Thury 
Harcourt, near Caen, on the 22d September 1865, about 
the age of fifty-three. 

Sheriff Gordon was one of the three sons-in-law of 
Professor Wilson, the Christopher North of Blackwood. Just 
six weeks before the Sheriff’s death, another of the sons- 
in-law passed away. I refer to my late friend, Professor 
William Edmonstone Aytoun. He was of Norman lineage, 
and was a cadet of the Aytouns of Inchdairnie. He was 
born in Abercromby Place, Edinburgh, on the 21st June 
1813. His father, Mr Roger Aytoun, was a Writer to the 
Signet, and through his grandmother he represented the old 
family of Edmonstone of Corehouse. From his mother, a 
daughter of Keir of Kinmonth, Perthshire, he inherited a 
taste for Scottish ballad and an attachment to the memory 
of the cavaliers. He was educated at the University of 
Edinburgh, and became a Writer to the Signet; he sub¬ 
sequently passed advocate. At the bar, he obtained a good 
practice, but his tastes partook more of a literary than a 
legal character. He contributed to Taifs Magazine , in 
which, with his early friend, Mr Theodore Martin, he pub¬ 
lished the “ Bon Gaultier Ballads.” His connection with 
Blackwood's Magazine began in 1836, when in that periodical 
appeared his translations from Uhland. In 1843 he pub¬ 
lished his “ Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers,” which at once 


152 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN. 


established his poetical reputation. He was in 1845 elected 
Professor of Rhetoric and Belles Lettres in Edinburgh Uni¬ 
versity, an appointment attended with small emolument, but * 
otherwise suited to his tastes. In 1852 he was appointed 
Sheriff of Orkney, a lucrative office, and of which the 
duties did not imply a removal from Edinburgh, or an 
abdication of his professorial functions. 

Possessed of an abundant leisure, Professor Aytoun 
now contributed to nearly every number of Blackivood's 
Magazine , and produced several separate publications. 
His poem of “ Bothwell,” which appeared in 1856, did not 
fulfil the expectations of his admirers, but his “ Firmilian, 
or the Student of Badajoz,” a poetical satire on the poets 
of the spasmodic school, regained his poetical laurels. In 
1849 he married Jane Emily, youngest daughter of Pro¬ 
fessor Wilson; she died on the 15th April 1859. In 1863 
he contracted a second marriage with Fearne Jemima, 
second daughter of James Kinnear, Esq., Writer to the 
Signet. After an illness of about a year, he died at Black- 
hills, near Elgin, on the 4th August, 1865, in his 52d year. 

With Professor Aytoun I became acquainted in 1852. He 
was then a leading supporter of a short-lived and ill-omened 
association for the “ Vindication of Scottish Rights.” The 
administration of the Society’s affairs got into the hands of 
an individual who, possessing patriotic ardour, unbalanced 
by common sense, set forth as a chief national wrong that 
on a public building in the west of Scotland, the Scottish 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


153 


lion was improperly quartered in the national shield. So 
the Society was laughed down, and the Professor, who had 
hoped from the movement better things, could never hear 
of it afterwards but with distaste. Like his friend, the 
historian of Europe, Professor Aytoun was a zealous free¬ 
mason. As Master of the “ Canongate Kilwinning” lodge, 
which is associated with Burns, Hogg, and other celebrities, 
he increased the popularity of the craft, bringing with him 
to the interesting lodge-chapel in St John Street, both as 
members and visitors, many eminent citizens and men of 
letters. He was fond of drollery, and could resist no oppor¬ 
tunity of practising his facetiousness. During the summer 
of i860, I chanced to meet him at dinner, at a fashionable 
watering place. The guests were strangers to each other, 
the Professor being known only to the family of the host 
and to myself. He talked chiefly with an elderly gentleman, 
who sat near him, and who had at the commencement of 
the conversation referred to his holding office as a county 
magistrate. Conceiving that his new acquaintance valued 
himself on his magisterial status, he resolved to have some 
diversion at his expense. Brigandage in Italy was then 
occupying public attention, and on this theme being intro¬ 
duced the magistrate stated his belief that tranquillity would 
only be restored by an entire extirpation of the brigands. 
“ Won’t do, sir,” said the Professor. “ Brigandage is not an 
unmitigated evil. Brigands are brave; they take their lives 
in their hands, and they earn their livelihood by their heroic 


154 


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deeds. Suppose,” he continued “ you and I should to¬ 
morrow morning go up to the railway station, each provided 
with a brace of pistols in our vest pockets. Just as a train 
is starting, we might dart our heads into compartments of 
first-class carriages, and presenting our pistols at well-to-do 
solitary travellers, demand an instant surrender. We might, 
sir, do a good turn of business, and though discovered, we 
would no doubt be excused for our heroism.” “ I abhor 
your proposal,” said the indignant J.P., and will have 
nothing to do with it.” “ I could not accomplish it alone,” 
said the Professor. After an interval the magistrate spoke 
of some of his own decisions in the administration of the 
Poor Law. The Professor said that he was himself a 
sheriff, and that he decided quite differently. “ Then I 
cannot commend your law,” said the magistrate, who was 
evidently both puzzled and disgusted with the strange indi¬ 
vidual into whose society he had been thrown. 

We adjourned to the drawing-room, where the Professor 
and I conversed. The magistrate embraced a convenient 
opportunity to take me aside, and to inquire whether I knew 
privately the gentleman with whom I had been talking, 
remarking at the same time that both his law and his prin¬ 
ciples were strangely unsound. “ Not at all,” I replied, 
“ he is a capital lawyer, and is sound every way. He is the 
sheriff and vice-admiral of the Orkneys, a doctor of the civil 
law, professor of Rhetoric at Edinburgh, and the principal 
contributor to Blackwood “ Oh ! I see, Professor Aytoun, 


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155 


of course. What a facetious dog he is,” said the magis¬ 
trate. “ Pray introduce me to him !” 

Of Aytoun, the following anecdote is related in his me¬ 
moirs by Mr Theodore Martin. I give the anecdote in his 
biographer’s words. “ Being asked to get up an impromptu 
amusement at a friend’s house in 1844, for some English 
visitors, who were enthusiastic about Highlanders and the 
Highlands, he fished out from his wardrobe the kilt with 
which he had electrified the men of Thurso in his boyish 
days.. Arraying himself in this and a blue cloth jacket with 
white metal buttons, which he had got years before to act a 
charity boy in a charade, he completed his costume by a 
scarf across his shoulders, short hose, and brogues! The 
brevity of the kilt produced a most ludicrous effect, and 
not being eked out with the usual “ sporan,” left him very 
much in the condition of the “ cutty sark ” of Burns’s poem. 
With hair like Katterfelto’s, on end in wild disorder, Aytoun 
was ushered into the drawing-room. He bore himself with 
more than Celtic dignity, and saluted the Southrons with 
stately courtesy, being introduced to them as the famous 
Laird of MacNab. The ladies were delighted with the 
chieftain, who related many highly-exciting traits of High¬ 
land manners. Among other things, when his neighbours, 
as he told them, made a foray, which they often did upon 
his cattle, he thought nothing of “ sticking a tirk into their 
powels,” when the ladies exclaimed in horror, “ O laird, 
you don’t say so !” “Say so!” he replied, “on my saul, 



156 


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laties, and to pe surely I to it.” A picture of Prince Charles, 
which hung in the room, was made the object of profound 
veneration. At supper he was asked to sing a song. “ I 
am ferry sorry, laties,” he replied, “ that I have no voice ; 
but I will speak to you a translation of a ferry ancient 
Gaelic poem,” and proceeded to chant “ The Massacre of 
ta Phairshon,” which came upon all present as if it were 
the invention of the moment, and was greeted with roars 
of laughter. The joke was carried on until the party broke 
up, and the strangers were not undeceived for some days 
as to the true character of the great Celtic chief.” 

Though his humour inclined to sarcasm, Professor Aytoun 
was radically genial. I remember that at our first inter¬ 
view he referred to the illness of his gifted father-in-law, 
Professor Wilson, in terms which left no doubt as to the 
intensity of his affections. He spoke of the Ettrick Shep¬ 
herd, and others he had known in early life, with expres¬ 
sions of generous kindliness. In his conversation I could 
not detect the least self-assertion. On one occasion he ex¬ 
pressed to me his dislike of memoirs, and his feeling that a 
man’s reputation should rest solely on his works. I chanced 
to visit him when he was preparing notes to his poem of 
“ Bothwell,” which was to appear in a few weeks. I told 
him how anxiously the public waited for the poem. Pie 
said, “ I intend my reputation to rest upon it.” It was to 
prove otherwise. Though exposing to ridicule the style 
of the spasmodic poets, he was most friendly with several 


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157 


of them, who on their part duly appreciated his kindly 
nature. With his students he was a universal favourite ; 
the attendance at the Rhetoric class rose after his appoint¬ 
ment from thirty to one hundred and fifty. 

At the outset of his career, Professor Aytoun was uncom¬ 
monly diffident. When in her father’s drawing-room he was 
making proposals of marriage to Miss Jane Emily Wilson, 
who afterwards became his wife, the lady reminded him 
that before she could give her absolute consent, it would 
be necessary that he should obtain her father’s approval. 
“ You must speak for me,” said the suitor, “ for I could not 
summon courage to speak to the Professor on this subject.” 
“ Papa is in the library,” said the lady. “ Then you had 
better go to him,” said the suitor, and “ I’ll wait till you 
return.” The lady proceeded to the library, and taking her 
father affectionately by the hand, mentioned that Professor 
Aytoun had asked her in marriage. She added, “ Shall I 
accept his offer, papa ? he is so diffident that he won’t speak 
to you about it himself.” “ Then we must deal tenderly 
with his feelings,” said the hearty old Christopher. “I’ll 
write my reply on a slip of paper, and pin it to your back.” 
“ Papa’s answer is on the back of my dress,” said Miss 
Jane, as she entered the drawing-room. Turning round, 
the delighted suitor read these words, “With the author’s 
compliments! ” 

The third son-in-law of Professor Wilson, my late 
gifted friend, Professor James Frederick Ferrier, died at St 


158 


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Andrews on the nth June, 1864, in his fifty-sixth year. 
He was born at Edinburgh in November 1808. His father, 
John Ferrier, Writer to the Signet, was son of James Ferrier, 
who represented an old Norman house, and held the office 
of a clerk of Session. His mother, Margaret Wilson, was 
sister of the gifted Professor, who became his father-in-law. 
His aunt, Susan Edmonstone Ferrier, was the authoress of 
“ Marriage,” and other celebrated novels. He studied at 
Edinburgh University, and afterwards proceeded to Oxford, 
where he graduated. He subsequently travelled and studied 
in Germany. In 1832 he was called to the Scottish Bar, 
but it is doubtful whether he ever sought employment as a 
lawyer. He was elected to the Professorship of Universal 
History in the University of Edinburgh, and became a con¬ 
tributor to Blackwood's Magazine and other serials. In 1845 
he was preferred to the chair of Moral Philosophy at St 
Andrews. In 1852 he was candidate for the Moral Philo¬ 
sophy chair at Edinburgh, vacant by the retirement of Pro¬ 
fessor Wilson, but the Town Council of the city being 
generally adherents of the Free Church, elected a gentle¬ 
man who belonged to that communion. The proceedings 
of the Edinburgh Town Council at this and a subsequent 
election, led to the patronage of the University being trans¬ 
ferred from them to a body of trustees. 

As an expounder of ethical science, Professor Ferrier 
maintained a growing popularity. As a philosophic thinker 
he was assigned a first rank on the publication of his “ In- 


MEN I HA VE KNOWN 


159 


stitutes of Metaphysics” in 1854, and when Sir William 
Hamilton died, soon after, it was held by all save the sec¬ 
tarian traders of the Edinburgh corporation—that no living 
metaphysician was better fitted for the vacant chair. 

Professor Ferrier studied with an incessant perseverance. 
He almost lived in his library. He entered it after break¬ 
fast, and continued in it, with a short respite for an early 
dinner, till a late hour of the evening. While his colleagues 
were enjoying their holidays, he sat at home wedded to his 
books. “You are always here,” I said to him one day. 
“ I am not so comfortable elsewhere,” was the reply. “ My 
books are around me, and my world is books.” “ You 
take an occasional excursion, I hope?” “I have not done 
so for some years. I have no taste for running about.” 
“But you must doubtless enjoy fine scenery. I have just 
been among the Grampians, seeing waterfalls, and lochs, 
and moors, and romantic dells, and have greatly enjoyed 
myself.” “I like to read about what you describe, but for 
some years I have been unable to change my habit of keep¬ 
ing at home.” “ A great mistake,” I persisted ; “ you will 
die; you will wear yourself out.” “ Perhaps,” he said, 
“ but I cannot help it.” My prediction was unhappily 
realised. Only a year or two after our conversation, Pro¬ 
fessor Perrier was seized with a complication of disorders. 
For some time he struggled against his ailments; at length 
he was obliged to delegate to others the duty of conducting 
his classes. After three years of bad health, he gently sunk 


160 


MEN I HA VE KNOWN. 


into his rest. Apart from his eminence as a metaphysician, 
he was an accomplished general scholar. He was abun¬ 
dantly hospitable, and of conciliatory manners. None who 
knew him will utter a word in his dispraise. 

As another contributor to Blackwood's Magazine , though 
he survived some others yet to be named, I would next 
refer to my late friend Professor George Moir. He was a 
native of Aberdeen, where he was brought up and educated. 
With a view to becoming an advocate, he proceeded to 
Edinburgh, and prosecuted the study of law. He was called 
to the Bar in 1825, and amidst a host of brilliant competi¬ 
tors, gradually found his way both as a pleader and cham¬ 
ber counsel. In his 25th year he contributed an article on 
“ Spanish Literature ” to the Edinburgh Keview, which he 
followed by another on the “ Lyric Poetry of Spain.” In 
1831 he began to write for Blackwood's Magazine , to which 
he contributed at intervals for twenty years afterwards. In 
1838 he was elected Professor of Rhetoric in the University 
of Edinburgh, an office which he resigned in 1840, when 
he was appointed Sheriff of Ross-shire. He was in 1858 
preferred to the Sheriffship of Stirling, and in 1864 elected 
Professor of Scots Law in Edinburgh University. The last 
appointment he was obliged to relinquish in 1866, from 
failing health. He died suddenly on the 19th October, 
1870, aged seventy-one years. 

Professor Moir was short in stature, and in his facial 
aspects afforded little, if any, indication of intellectual 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


161 


power. His manner was dry and distant, and his conversa¬ 
tion seldom warmed into fervency. But he was withal a 
kind-hearted man, ready to do a good turn, and to promote 
any cause worthy of support. He was a keen lover of art, 
and took an intelligent interest in landscape gardening. In 
order to complete the public grounds on the Castle Hill of 
Stirling, the laying out of which I had devised some years 
before, I asked Sheriff Moir to contribute to the cost. He 
replied, that he took a deep interest in improvements of 
the sort, and would inform me whether he would subscribe 
after his next visit to Stirling. Some weeks after, he took 
a solitary walk on the Castle Hill, and was observed to 
inspect the ornamental grounds from the different promi¬ 
nences. He afterwards wrote me, expressing his admira¬ 
tion of the improvement, and tendering a contribution. 

Another Edinburgh professor, entitled to a place in these 
reminiscences, is my late excellent friend, Sir George Ballin- 
gal. This most estimable gentleman was born in the manse 
of Forglen, Banffshire, on the 2d May 1780, his father being 
the parochial clergyman. He received his school educa¬ 
tion at Falkland, and afterwards prosecuted medical studies 
at the universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh. In 1806 
he entered the army as assistant-surgeon in the First Royals, 
and accompanied his regiment to Madras. He was present 
at the capture of Java, in August 18n, and was surgeon to 
the 33d regiment during the occupation of Paris in 1815. 
Having retired on half-pay, he commenced private practice 

L 


162 


MEN I HA VE KNOWN. 


in Edinburgh. In 1823 he was appointed to the Chair 
of Military Surgery in Edinburgh University. In 1831 he 
received the honour of knighthood. He was elected a 
Fellow of the Royal Society, and of the principal medical 
societies of Europe. Sir George died at Edinburgh in 1855, 
in his seventy-fifth year. In the branch of surgery to which 
his attention was especially directed, he was an enthusiast, 
and he delighted to communicate his knowledge without 
professional reserve. He had travelled much, and he re¬ 
lated what he had seen in an interesting manner. He 
rejoiced to yield a helping hand to all who required his 
aid. An accomplished gentleman, his intercourse was at 
all times enjoyable. 

Professor Pillans I knew only in his old age. He had 
an exact and most retentive memory, and took pleasure in 
repeating long passages from his favourite poets. He was 
an agreeable companion, told capital stories, and could 
portray the manners of those long departed. Of a generous 
nature, he was yet careful of his coin ; and had the art of 
living comfortably without profusion. It is pleasant to re¬ 
call the venerable form of this professorial veteran of four¬ 
score, and pleasant to think of our last meeting in Yarrow, 
when he descanted on his recollections of the Ettrick Shep¬ 
herd, Thomas Campbell, and a host of others. He died 
at Edinburgh on the 27th March 1864, in his eighty-sixth 
year. 

Similarly entertaining in his recollections was my late 


MEN I HA VE KNOWN. 


163 


gifted friend, Dr John Strang, City Chamberlain of Glas¬ 
gow. The son of a Glasgow wine merchant, and his suc¬ 
cessor in trade, he early renounced the practice of busi¬ 
ness, and devoted himself to literary pursuits. In opening 
manhood he visited France and Italy, and prosecuted philo¬ 
sophical studies in Germany. His first publication was 
entitled “ Tales of Humour and Romance, from the German 
of Hoffman and others.” Having visited some of the chief 
art galleries of Europe, he obtained celebrity as a fine-art 
critic. In 1830, he published, under the pseudonym ol 
Jeoffrey Crayon, jun., “ A Glance at the Exhibitions of the 
Works of Living Artists, under the patronage of the Glasgow 
Dilletanti Society.” During the following year he produced 
a small volume entitled, “ Necropolis Glasguensis,” advocat¬ 
ing the conversion of the Fir Park, which adjoined the 
Cathedral, into a place of public sepulture. This effort 
was attended by the construction of the Glasgow Necro¬ 
polis, one of the most picturesque cemeteries in Britain. 

In 1832 Dr Strang edited, during its existence of six 
months, The Day , a Glasgow daily journal, to which he 
contributed many original compositions, both in prose and 
verse. His “ Travels in Germany,” in two octavo volumes, 
appeared in 1836. A little before, he was elected City 
Chamberlain, an office of which he discharged the duties 
with most remarkable acceptance. His statistical reports 
were held in high esteem, and form a local record of no 
inconsiderable value. His most popular work, “Glasgow 


164 


MEN I HA VE KNOWN 


and its Clubs/’ was issued in 1855, as a thick octavo, and 
soon passed into a second edition. During his last illness, 
he prepared “Travelling Notes of an Invalid,” which was 
published within a few weeks of his decease. He died on 
the 8th December 1863, in his sixty-eighth year. He was 
LL.D. of Glasgow University, and Associate of several of 
the learned societies. Abundantly hospitable, he rejoiced 
to see at his table the cultivators of literature and art. He 
remembered several old Glasgow notables in their every¬ 
day life, and could vividly depict their peculiar manners. 
He was a laborious student, but seldom referred to his 
literary labours. Of a conciliatory disposition, he disliked 
controversy, and rejoiced to unite in harmony those who 
were estranged. His peculiar profile did not at first im¬ 
press strangers with a proper conception of his powers. In 
conversation he excelled. 

I now pay a tribute to the memory of one whose progress 
to distinction I watched from boyhood, and whose prema¬ 
ture decease I mourned in common with his contempo¬ 
raries. I refer to the Reverend John Robertson, D.D., 
Minister of the Cathedral Church, and Vice-Chancellor 
of the University of Glasgow. This most accomplished 
and excellent man was born in the city of Perth on 
the 9th April 1824. Having in childhood lost his father, 
his upbringing devolved on his mother, who supported 
herself by keeping a small shop. As a youth, he was 
singularly retiring; avoiding all sports, he was constantly 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


1G5 


with his books. In all his classes he gained the top, and 
kept it. Before leaving the Grammar School he had 
mastered and professed the twenty-four books of the 
Odyssey , twelve books of the Iliad\ the Medea of Euripides, 
and the CEdipus of Sophocles; and in his sixteenth year 
he could read French and German. He became a student 
at St Andrews University in 1840. Thither his fame had 
preceded him. He was hailed as a prodigy. He excelled 
in every department of study, and so modestly did he 
repeat his tasks that he seemed to offer an apology for 
his excellence. With the exception of another, also a 
native of Perth, and now a useful clergyman at Edin¬ 
burgh, I do not remember that any of my fellow-students 
were so revered for extent and variety of attainments. 
Mr Robertson’s moral qualities were on a par with his 
intellectual precocity. When at any meeting of the gowns¬ 
men, however stormy, he was known to be on his feet, 
there was a hush, and each prepared to listen reverently. 
He had no rival, and he chose as companions the best 
scholars, or those whom he had known at Perth. He 
lost his mother when sixteen, and having no other near 
relative he made St Andrews his home. At the Divinity 
Hall his talents were at once recognised by the professors, 
who took every opportunity to denote their approbation. 
From the Presbytery of St Andrews he received license to 
preach in February 1848. Before the close of that year he 
was, on the invitation of the people, ordained to the pas- 


166 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


toral charge of the united parishes of Mains and Strath- 
martin, in the county of Forfar. 

By his flock Mr Robertson was beloved. He visited 
from house to house, and so acceptably that the humblest 
of his people regarded him as a friend. His discourses were 
conceived in plain words, and delivered with an earnest- 
ness which commended his teaching even to the careless. 
Though seldom absent from his own pulpit, his reputation 
extended rapidly. In 1852 he was offered the first charge 
of Stirling, and some time afterwards the office of collegiate 
minister of St Andrews Church, Edinburgh. These appoint¬ 
ments he declined; but in 1858 he accepted an invitation 
to become minister of the Cathedral Church, Glasgow. 
The position was most influential, but none doubted the 
fitness of the presentee. The University of St Andrews 
conferred on him the degree of D.D., and he was ap¬ 
pointed Vice-Chancellor of Glasgow College. 

At Glasgow Dr Robertson laboured indefatigably. In¬ 
teresting himself in the parochial charities, these were, by 
his efforts, augmented and consolidated. Latterly he under¬ 
took extensive labours on behalf of the University. His 
constitution was never robust, and from early youth he had 
taxed it severely. He suffered from a languid circulation. 
Early in 1863 he was seriously ill; but after a period of rest 
from his public labours, he considerably recruited. But his 
ailment returned, and he was laid aside from duty of every 
sort. He had lately married a daughter of Professor John 


MEN I HA VE KNOIV.N. 


167 


Cook ol St Andrews, and he retired to that city—the scene 
of his early triumphs—there to be tended by loving and 
anxious friends. He died at St Andrews on the 9th January 
1865, and his remains were solemnly interred in the Cathe¬ 
dral burying-ground—the citizens closing their shops during 
the mournful ceremonial. His memoirs have been pub¬ 
lished, with some specimens of his pulpit discourses. Yet 
all who knew him must feel that neither his well-written 
sermons, nor the appropriate words of his accomplished 
biographer, bring out with sufficient force the power and 
energy of his nature. He survives in the hearts of his con¬ 
temporaries, and of those who profited by his ministerial 
counsels. 

Eminently cheerful, Dr Robertson much enjoyed the tale 
of humour. He used to relate an anecdote of Walter 
Nicoll, the beadle of Mains. Walter paid him a visit at 
Glasgow, and on Sunday worshipped in the Cathedral. 
With its noble columns, lofty arches, and elegant stained 
windows, it is the most stately place of worship in Scot¬ 
land. “ This is a much finer church than Mains, Walter,” 
said Dr Robertson, after service, to his visitor. “ I’m no 
sae sure o’ that,” was the rejoinder. “ Indeed,” said Dr 
Robertson ; “ surely you have no fault to find with the 
Cathedral.” After a pause, Walter replied, “She’s useless big 
—she’s got nae laft—and she’s sair fashed wi’ thae pillars !” 

Another distinguished graduate of St Andrews, was the 
late Dr Robert Lee of Edinburgh. With this ingenious 


168 


MEN 1 HA VE KNO WA . 


and learned person I was slightly acquainted. He was 
born at Tweedmouth, Berwickshire, in November 1804; 
and, being of humble parentage, was trained as a boat- 
builder. His father was precentor in the Presbyterian 
Church, and encouraged him to study for the ministry. 
After the hours of labour he constructed a boat, which 
he sold, and with the proceeds repaired to St Andrews, 
where he enrolled himself as a university student. He had 
the usual struggles. Distinguishing himself in his classes, 
he procured teaching, and so obtained the means of sup¬ 
port. He entered college in 1824, and eight years after¬ 
wards became a licentiate. In 1833 he was elected minister 
of Inverbrothock Chapel, near Arbroath. He was trans¬ 
lated to Campsie, Stirlingshire, in 1836, and in August 
1843, was appointed to Old Greyfriars’ Church, Edinburgh. 
In 1847, the Professorship of Biblical Criticism in Edin¬ 
burgh University, newly instituted, was conferred upon 
him. He was an accomplished scholar. With the Chris¬ 
tian Fathers he had formed a critical acquaintance, and 
he was conversant with ancient and modern literature. 
As a preacher, he was remarkable for a clear intonation, 
and a distinct utterance. His Scriptural expositions were 
original and ingenious, and those who doubted the sound¬ 
ness of his conclusions, were ever ready to commend his 
mode of expressing his convictions. Many, who had long 
been strangers to the sanctuary, were, by his preaching, 
attracted to Old Greyfriars’ Church. 


MEN / HA VE KNO WA . 


169 


Dr Robert Lee will be chiefly remembered for his per¬ 
sistent and successful efforts to render the worship of the 
Presbyterian Communion more in harmony with that of 
other Protestant Churches. He introduced a modified 
liturgy in Old Greyfriars’ Church—got his people to stand 
at praise and kneel at prayer, and terminated the struggles 
of liberal Presbyterians, carried on for half-a-century, by 
using an organ. These enlightened ameliorations of the 
Presbyterian ritual were achieved amidst a course of opposi¬ 
tion, and perhaps no other Scotsman would have mastered 
the difficulties which he had to surmount. His acknow¬ 
ledged learning, and the excellence of his devotional 
services, considerably availed him, while his acquaintance 
with ecclesiastical polity, and unrivalled powers of debate, 
proved overwhelming to his opponents. None who were 
present in the General Assembly of 1859, when the debate 
on “ innovations ” was proceeded with, can forget the 
masterly manner in which he overturned the arguments of 
his opponents. While an ordinary innovator would have been 
subjected to censure, he left the bar without rebuke, and 
without interference with his congregational arrangements. 
Subsequent General Assemblies allowed him to take his 
own course, till more becoming postures in prayer and 
praise were actually sanctioned. Congregations, too, were 
permitted to conjoin instrumental music with the psalmody. 

If his life had been prolonged, Dr Lee would probably 
have succeeded in introducing a modified liturgy. As it 


170 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


was, he laid the foundation ot reforms in the Genevan 
system, which, as old prejudices disappear, will unques¬ 
tionably be carried forward. He was attacked by paralysis 
in May 1867, and died at Torquay on the 14th March 
1868. He was a keen controversialist, and smote his an¬ 
tagonists with relentless and crushing sarcasm. Latterly, 
he forbore the use of offensive weapons. In early life he 
was disposed to censure keenly the bigoted and ignorant; 
latterly he was more disposed to excuse than to condemn. 
He was a kind husband, an affectionate father, and a con¬ 
fiding friend. He sought the best interests of the Church 
of Scotland. * 

In these “ Recollections ” I may not omit the name of 
the late Dr John Aiton, minister of Dolphinton. This 
somewhat eccentric, but most worthy clergyman, was son 
of Mr William Aiton, sheriff-substitute of Lanarkshire. 
Educated at the University of Edinburgh, he was in 1819 
licensed as a probationer. In 1825 he was ordained to the 
pastoral charge of Dolphinton, where he ministered till his 
decease. He died at Pyrgo Park, Essex, on the 15th May 
1865, at the age of sixty-five. He was a somewhat exten¬ 
sive writer; his more esteemed publications being “ Clerical 
Economics ; ” “ Life and Times of Alexander Henderson ; ” 
and “St Paul and His Localities.” An eager disputant, 
he was uncompromising in the exposure of wrong-doing. 
Through his unsparing denunciations of certain abuses in 
the financial concerns of the Church, a better system of 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


171 


administration was inaugurated. Zealous in the cause of 
missions, he sought to establish a special mission to the 
Jews in Palestine. He was a vigorous advocate of temper¬ 
ance, and a warm upholder of benevolent institutions. An 
extensive traveller, he delighted to relate his experiences at 
gatherings of the young, with a view to their improvement. 
Of a large and ungainly form, with severe features, and 
generally apparelled in very plain attire, his aspect was 
repulsive rather than inviting. Nor was his personal un- 
gainliness compensated by pleasing and conciliatory man¬ 
ners. But he was withal of a genial nature; he was opposed 
to contention at the law, and rejoiced to reunite the bonds 
of a severed friendship. Pie was a warm friend, a faithful 
pastor, and a true Christian. 

Another country minister of great worth was my late 
ingenious friend, Dr Patrick Bell of Carmyllie. This most 
estimable individual, whose name, as the inventor of the 
reaping machine, is familiar throughout Britain and America, 
was born early in the century on the farm of Leach, parish 
of Auchterhouse, Forfarshire. Being a second son, he was 
destined for the ministry, but he was more inclined to 
mechanical than theological pursuits. While a college 
student, he invented an instrument for extracting sugar 
from beet, and contrived an apparatus for producing gas. 
From boyhood he had fixed his attention on the invention 
of a machine to supersede female labour in the reaping of 
corn. After many failures, he succeeded in realising his 


172 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


object, and in the autumn of 1826 first applied his machine 
to the harvest-field. 

In 1828 Mr Bell’s Reaper assumed the form in which it 
is used now. But the importance of the invention was not 
recognised till long afterwards, and the inventor, a licentiate 
of the Church, was obliged to accept employment as a tutor 
in Canada, nothing better having offered. In 1843 he 
returned to Scotland, when he obtained the church living of 
Carmyllie. In this retired parish he laboured with exem¬ 
plary fidelity. No inventor was more unpretentious or less 
of a self-seeker. Many of his clerical brethren were, long 
after his appointment to Carmyllie, unaware that he had in¬ 
vented the reaper, and when at a reaping machine exhibi¬ 
tion at Stirling in 1853, I introduced him as the inventor to 
a member of the Highland Society, I was supposed to labour 
under a mistake. In 1867 he read to the British Association 
at Dundee, a paper setting forth the history of his invention. 
At length public attention awakened to his claims. The 
Highland Society proposed a testimonial. He was pre¬ 
sented with a thousand guineas and some valuable articles 
of plate. The University of St Andrews offered him the 
degree of LL.D. He did not long survive his honours ; he 
died at Carmyllie on the 22d April 1869. 

Sir James Young Simpson, Bart., I claim only as an occa¬ 
sional correspondent. The son of an operative baker at 
Bathgate, he was intended for the same trade. He entered 
on the first stage of it, but his aspirations pointed to a higher 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


173 


destiny. Through the assistance of an elder brother he 
entered the University of Edinburgh. In 1832 he took his 
degree of M.D., while in his twenty-first year. He became 
assistant to Dr John Thomson, Professor of Pathology, and 
began to deliver extra academic lectures on obstetric 
science. In 1840 he was preferred to the chair of Mid¬ 
wifery. Success attended him from the first, and ere long 
his eminence was recognised. In 1847 he applied chloro¬ 
form as an anaesthetic, thereby conferring one of the greatest 
boons which has ever been bestowed upon mankind. At 
first he used the anaesthetic in obstetric practice only. 
Some objected, quoting the words of the primeval curse, 
“ in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children.” When every 
argument had failed to satisfy the objector’s scruples, he 
mentioned that Adam was thrown into a deep sleep, when 
the rib which formed Eve was extracted from him. This 
last argument never failed him. 

Another anecdote may be related. He sought to improve 
every moment of his time. He was in 1848 waiting for a 
ferry-boat, and a patient afterwards expressed regret that his 
valuable time should have been wasted. “ Not at all,” said 
the Professor, “ I was all the time chloroforming the eels.” 
In 1852 he was elected President of the Royal College of 
Physicians. Other honours followed. The University of 
Oxford conferred D.C.L., and the leading medical and 
scientific associations of Europe bestowed their honours. 
In 1866 he was created a baronet. In 1869 he was placed 


174 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


on the roll of the honorary burgesses of Edinburgh. He 
was an accomplished archaeologist. His contributions to 
the Scottish Society of Antiquaries evince painstaking re¬ 
search, with no inconsiderable powers of concise and correct 
description. He was a true philanthropist. During the 
latter years of his life he sought the best means of improv¬ 
ing the salubrity of hospitals and reformatories. A reformer 
of morals, he endeavoured to check the progress of disease, 
by promoting the laws of social order. An exemplary 
Christian, he would frequently, in the evening of days 
spent in the sick room, address meetings of earnest persons 
assembled for purposes of devotion. He died of heart 
disease, after a short illness, on the 6th of May 1870. His 
remains were followed to Warriston Cemetery by a proces¬ 
sion greater than probably ever before assembled at a public 
funeral in the city of Edinburgh. 

His appearance was striking. His head was large, and a 
profusion of long tangled hair rested on a countenance dis¬ 
playing a brent brow, soft piercing eyes, a somewhat coarse 
nose, with dilated nostrils, and a well-chiselled mouth. His 
look was thoughtful, and an activity of glance and motion 
showed that his time was not to be wasted. He was com¬ 
pactly built, and of short stature. 

To indulge in panegyric on the memory of one whose 
recent premature departure is so universally deplored, were 
inappropriate. He had fulfilled his mission; and the ex¬ 
ample of professional ardour, large hearted benevolence, 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN. 


175 


and earnest piety, which he left behind, cannot be unfruit¬ 
ful. Some verses, which he composed at Geneva a few 
years previous to his death, may not unsuitably sum up 
these brief allusions to his history : 

“ Oft ’mid this world’s ceasless strife, 

When flesh and spirit fail me, 

I stop and think of another life, 

Where ills can ne’er assail me. 

Where my wearied arm shall cease its fight, 

My heart shall cease its sorrow, 

And this dark night change for the light 
Of everlasting morrow. 

“ On earth below there’s nought but woe, 

E’en earth is gilded sadness ; 

But in heaven above there’s nought but love, 

With all its raptured gladness : 

There—till I come—waits me a home, 

All human dreams excelling, 

In which, at last, when life is past, 

I’ll find a regal dwelling. 

“ Then shall be mine, through grace Divine, 

A rest that knows no ending, 

Which my soul’s eye would fain descry, 

Though still with clay ’tis blending, 

And, Saviour dear, while I tarry here, 

Where a Father’s love hath found me, 

Oh ! let me feel—through woe or weal— 

Thy guardian arm around me !” 

My late distinguished friend, Dr Henry Cooke of Belfast 


176 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


was associated with some Scottish affairs, and I will there¬ 
fore be pardoned for noticing him. He was born at 
Maghera, in the county of Derry, on the nth May 1788. 
At the University of Glasgow he obtained a respectable 
acquaintance with the classics, and studied theology. As 
a licentiate of the Irish Presbyterian Church, he preached 
acceptably; but his first appearances did not foreshadow 
his future eminence. In t8o8 he was ordained Presby¬ 
terian minister at Duneane, in the county of Antrim. In 
1811 he was translated to Donegore, in the same county; 
and in 1818 was preferred to the Presbyterian congrega¬ 
tion at Killyleagh, in county Down. By an influential 
body of Presbyterians at Belfast he was, in 1820, invited 
to undertake the charge of a new congregation; and on his 
acceptance of the call, a place of worship in May Street 
was erected for his use. Crowds flocked to his ministra¬ 
tions, and he was hailed as the most powerful preacher in 
the north of Ireland. 

The Presbyterians in Ireland had, like their English 
brethren, deviated in numbers from a strict adherence to 
their Church standards as set forth in the Books of Dis¬ 
cipline, and the Westminster Confession. When Dr Cooke 
entered on his ministry, the doctrines of Arius were pro¬ 
fessed and preached by a considerable number of the 
clergy. Against this defection he zealously protested. At 
a public discussion with the most eloquent of the Arians, 
Dr Henry Montgomery, he overwhelmed that champion of 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


177 


the heterodox creed. Montgomery retired from the Pres¬ 
byterian connection, and, with his adherents, formed a new 
Synod. 

Recognised as the greatest debater in the Presbyterian 
Church of Ireland, Dr Cooke was challenged by the Volun¬ 
tary advocate, Dr John Ritchie of Edinburgh, to a public 
discussion on church establishments. It took place at Bel¬ 
fast. Dr Cooke maintained the cause of establishments 
with a splendour and force of eloquence which surprised 
even his admirers. In connection with the debate, I may 
mention an incident. Dr Ritchie had assailed the memory of 
Lord Castlereagh, by characterising his act of suicide as “ his 
last and best.” After a few words, deprecating the allusion, 
and exhorting to sentiments of charity, Dr Cooke added, 
“ Shall we not rather hope, in the words of Sterne, that the 
recording angel dropped a tear upon the act, and blotted it 
out for ever?” The Scottish advocate of Voluntaryism 
never recovered the onslaught of the Belfast orator. 

Having overcome two noted champions of debate, Dr 
Cooke ventured to challenge Daniel O’Connell, who was 
then prosecuting his repeal agitation; but the agitator 
declined to enter the lists with him. Informed that 
O’Connell had described him as “the Cock of the North,” 
Dr Cooke said, “ I hope, like the cock which startled the 
erring apostle, I may bring him to repentance.” His 
power of humour was of a first order. A temporary place 
of worship—constructed of timber—had been erected near 


178 


MEN I HA VE KNO J VN 


the Arian meeting-place of Dr Montgomery, much to the 
annoyance of that gentleman’s daughter, a smart girl of 
twenty, who described it “only fit for cows.” “Yes,” said 
Dr Cooke, “and there will be milk there—not the milk 
which Miss Montgomery thinks of, but the sincere milk of 
the Word.” 

He was appointed President of the Presbyterian Theolo¬ 
gical Institute at Belfast, and Professor of Sacred Rhetoric 
and Catechetics in the Institution. As a professor, he 
excelled less as a lecturer than as a painstaking instructor 
in the elements of Christian doctrine. His only published 
writings consist of some controversial papers and pulpit 
discourses, and notes to Brown’s Self-Interpreting Bible. 
Public speaking, whether on the platform or in the pulpit, 
was his forte. His enunciation was clear and forcible, and 
he possessed a remarkable fluency. I have heard him 
preach. It was one of his last pulpit appearances, and 
when he was on the verge of fourscore. The discourse was 
long, and a little rambling, but there were few common¬ 
places and some eloquent references to passing events. 

Dr Cooke was eminently benevolent. On one occasion 
he offered to part with his watch on behalf of a charity; and 
when his church in May Street was erected, he specially 
requested that a portion of the gallery should be reserved 
for the use of the poor. He delighted to aid the deserving 
and relieve the unfortunate. When a ministerial brother 
was in difficulty, he was sure to experience in Dr Cooke a 


MEN I HA VE KNOWN 


179 


sympathising friend and judicious counsellor. Though 
warm in debate, he was in private kind and conciliatory. 
One of his last public acts was to accompany to their last 
resting place the remains of his former rival, Dr Mont¬ 
gomery. Unconscious of intellectual superiority, he was 
entirely free from self-assertion. I had ventured to compli¬ 
ment him on his powers of debate. “ My discussion with 
Ritchie,” he said, “ you probably refer to. I overcame him 
simply because I trusted to my memory; while he was 
occupied, when I was speaking, in taking notes, and so lost 
himself.” 

In personal appearance he was tall and spare. He had 
a fine open countenance, with a commanding forehead, 
prominent nose, and eagle eye. He excelled in conversa¬ 
tion, and was a favourite alike in the hall of the opulent 
and in the sick-chamber of the poor. He died on the 13th 
December 1868, at the age of eighty. He was sincerely 
lamented. His congregation hastened to rear to his memory 
an appropriate cenotaph in the vestibule of May Street 
Church, and the Belfast citizens have resolved to com¬ 
memorate him by a monumental statue. 

With the late Canon Melvill I was slightly acquainted. 
He was Scottish by descent. His father, Captain Philip 
Melvill, was born at Dunbar. In 1762 he was severely 
wounded in an engagement with Hyder Ali, and by that 
tyrant was detained a prisoner four years in the fort of 
Bangalore. On the downfall of Hyder Ali he returned to 


180 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


Britain, married Miss Dobree, a native of Guernsey, and was 
appointed Governor of Pendennis Castle. He died of fever 
in his forty-ninth year. His son Henry was born in 1798. 
By his father, who was deeply impressed with religious 

truth, he was dedicated to the ministry. He was educated 

* 

at Christ’s Hospital, and proceeded as a Grecian to St 
John’s College, Cambridge. Having obtained orders, he 
became incumbent of Camden Chapel, Camberwell, and at 
once established his reputation as a preacher. He was 
accused of imitating Dr Chalmers, and his oratory bears a 
resemblance to the style of the northern preacher. But he 
sufficiently retained his individuality, and had his imitators 
in his turn. The power of the Divine Word has never been 
described in more glowing terms than the following: 

“ No human composition presents, in anything of the same degree, 
the majesty of oratory and the loveliness of poetry. Some might com¬ 
mend his attention to the classic page, or bring forward the standard 
works of a nation’s literature ; but we would chain him down to the 
study of the Scriptures ; and we would tell him, if he would learn 
what is noble verse, he must hearken to Isaiah sweeping the clouds of 
Jerusalem’s glory ; and if he would know what is powerful in eloquence, 
he must stand by St Paul pleading in bonds at Agrippa’s tribunal. 
Take from Christendom the Bible, and you have taken the moral chart 
by which alone its population can be guided. Ignorant of the nature 
of God, and only guessing at their own immortality, the tens of thou¬ 
sands would be as mariners tossed on a wide ocean, without a pole-star 
and without a compass. The blue lights of the storm-fiend would burn 
ever in the shrouds ; and when the tornado of death rushed across the 
waters, there would be heard nothing but the shriek of the terrified and the 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


181 


groan of the despairing. It were to mantle the earth with a more than 
Egyptian darkness ; it were to dry up the fountains of human happi¬ 
ness ; it were to take the tides from our waters, and leave them stag¬ 
nant, and the stars from our heavens, and leave them in sackcloth, and 
the verdure from our valleys, and leave them in barrenness ; it were to 
make the present all recklessness, and the future all hopelessness, the 
maniac’s revelry, and then the fiend’s imprisonment, if you could anni¬ 
hilate that precious volume, which tells us of God and of Christ, and 
unveils immortality. Such is the Bible !” 

By the Duke of Wellington Mr Melvill was, in 1840, 
appointed Chaplain of the Tower, and afterwards he was 
elected by the Company of Haberdashers to the Golden 
Lectureship of St Margaret’s, Lothbury. In 1856 he re¬ 
signed the Golden Lectureship, on being appointed to a 
canonry in St Paul’s. Prior to its dissolution, in 1859, he 
was President of the East India College at Haileybury. In 
1863 he was presented by the Dean and Chapter of St 
Paul’s to the Rectory of Barnes, Surrey, which he resigned 
in 1870. He died on the 9th February 1871, in his seventy- 
third year. 

Canon Melvill has published several volumes of sermons, 
and many single discourses. In the pulpit he possessed 
few oratorical graces; he read closely, and was constantly 
handling his MS., while his elocution was unpleasantly 
rapid. His pulpit doctrine was evangelical, but privately 
he was unsettled in his opinions. In 1831 he was influenced 
by the theological extravagances of Edward Irving ; he 
afterwards sympathised with the tractarians, and latterly he 


182 


MEN I HA VE KNOWN. 


cast his lot among the moderate evangelicals. He was a 
keen politician, and was not indisposed from the pulpit to 
avow his political convictions. His father’s Memoir—an 
interesting Christian biography—was published shortly after 
his decease, but the reverend Canon was indisposed, by 
reprinting it, to make public that he was descended from a 
yeoman ancestry in the county of Haddington. Two of his 
brothers were knighted for their public services. 

As these sheets are being printed, one of the oldest and 
most valued of my literary friends has passed away. Dr 
Robert Chambers died at St Andrews on the 17th March 
1871. When I last saw him in August 1869, he was in 
feeble health; he believed, he said, that the end was near. 
He had been an indefatigable worker, especially at an early 
period, and had, to some extent, undermined a constitution 
naturally robust. He was my acquaintance for nearly thirty 
years, and I lament him as a father. Of all my literary 
friends, he was the most benevolent and amiable ; I never 
heard him utter unkindly sentiments even of the erring; 
he was disposed to excuse and compassionate, rather than 
condemn. With a fine open countenance, which literally 
glowed with benignity, he won the affections of all who 
knew him; he has probably not left an enemy. His services 
in connection with cheap literature will prove his more last¬ 
ing memorial; but few of his writings could be spared. 

He was born on the 10th July 1802, at Peebles, where his 
father, James Chambers, conducted business as a manufac- 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN 


183 


turer. On account of reverses in trade, his father removed 
to Edinburgh in 1813, with his family of six young children. 
Robert had already passed through a course of classical 
study at the Grammar School, and in his private reading had 
exhausted the stores of a circulating library. In his twelfth 
year, he began to peruse the Encyclopedia Britannica , which 
supplied to him the want of university training. Thrown 
very much on his own resources, he became a dealer in old 
books; he afterwards joined his elder brother William as a 
bookseller and printer. In 1822-3 he produced his “Tra¬ 
ditions of Edinburgh,” a work which brought him promin¬ 
ently into notice, and has maintained its popularity. Then 
followed in succession his “ Popular Rhymes of Scotland,” 
his “ Picture of Scotland,” his “ Histories of the Scottish 
Rebellions,” three volumes of “ Scottish Ballads and Songs,” 
and his “ Lives of Eminent Scotsmen.” When his brother 
William started Chambers's Edinburgh Journal in February 
1832, he became a most efficient coadjutor. To the early 
volumes he contributed many admirable essays, which have 
latterly been reproduced. In 1851 he published “ The Life 
and Works of Robert Burns,” in four volumes; and in 1858- 
61, in three octavo volumes, “ The Domestic Annals of Scot¬ 
land.” In 1861, he produced “The Book of Days,” one of 
the most laborious and interesting of his publications. 

In the proceedings of scientific and other learned so¬ 
cieties at Edinburgh, Robert Chambers for many years 
took a deep interest. He was an accurate antiquarian 


184 


MEN I HA VE KNO WN. 


scholar, and his two acknowledged geological works, 
“ Ancient Sea Margins of Scotland,” and “ Tracings of 
Ireland,” are justly held in estimation. The authorship 
of the “Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation ” has 
generally been assigned to him; but this work, though 
abounding in ingenious and startling speculation, does not 
evince the philosophical acuteness which is to be remarked 
in his other writings. In January 1863, he received from 
the University of St Andrews the honorary degree of Doctor 
of Laws. From 1861 to 1863 Dr Chambers resided in 
London; he subsequently removed to St Andrews, where 
he enjoyed the invigorating game of golf, and in compara¬ 
tive retirement prosecuted his peculiar studies. In his 
death Scotland has lost a powerful and effective illustra¬ 
tor, science an intelligent and earnest expositor, and the 
brotherhood of letters the most genial and generous of its 
members. 




LOWLAND MINSTRELS. 




4 


g N his personal character, Robert Burns has been 


much misrepresented. He erred—grievously so— 
but he was not irreligious. From his father he 
inherited a respect for piety and a reverence for the Scrip¬ 
tures. Tent-preaching with the irregularities which attended 
it, he denounced and ridiculed—wisely so. Several clergy¬ 
men and others he assailed rashly; but while he censured 
some he should have spared, his satire in other instances 
subserved the cause of morals. In 1856, when on a visit 
to Ayrshire, I spent an afternoon with Mrs Begg, the poet’s 
sister. She was verging on eighty, but retained her faculties, 
including perfect hearing and memory. She spoke of the 
bard in terms of deep affection. She remembered him 
well; she was five-and-twenty when he died. Before his 
removal to Dumfriesshire she saw him constantly. Their 
father died when she was about twelve years old, and 












186 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


Robert became head of the house. He took their father’s 
place in conducting household worship, and instructed his 
youngest sister, my informant, in the Church Catechism. 

“ He was as a father to me,” said Mrs Begg, “ and any know¬ 
ledge of the Scriptures I had in my youth I derived from 
his teaching. His whole conduct in the family,” she added, 
“was becoming and orderly.” She did not remember that 
he ever deviated from the strictest sobriety. 

Mrs Begg spoke much of her brother’s genius, and seemed 
to feel strongly that great as his fame was, his merits had 
not been duly recognised. I spoke of the approaching cen¬ 
tenary of his birth, and ventured to predict that a demon¬ 
stration would attend it, which would show her that the 
poet held a deep place in the national affections. She did 
not survive to witness the full realisation of my augury, but 
she knew of the preparations. 

The facial aspects of the bard, Mrs Begg assured me, 
were striking. “ His countenance,” she said, “ beamed 
with genius, and those meeting him on the highway turned 
round to have a second look of him.” I remarked that I 
understood that his eye was penetrating. “ He had dark 
eyes,” she replied, “ and a quick discerning glance, but every 
feature was kindled up with thought and feeling. Most of 
his engraved portraits are incorrect; some bear scarcely a 
resemblance.” She regarded Beugo’s engraving, and a 
lithograph by Schenck & M‘Farlane, as the best likenesses. 
The poet’s forehead, she said, was not high, and the top of 


LOWLAND MINSTRELS. 


187 


his head was flat. This latter peculiarity I afterwards ob¬ 
served in the cast of his skull. 

Respecting Burns’s general appearance I obtained some 
particulars in 1859, from an aged tradesman who lived at 
St Ninians, Stirlingshire. This person, who was in his 
ninety-third year, informed me, that during a visit to Ayr 
in 1786, he saw Burns in the course of a canvass for 
subscribers to the first edition of his poems. He retained 
a distinct recollection of his appearance; he was pointed 
out to him as a clever ploughman who had written capital 
verses. He wore a slouched cap, a striped vest, and a 
long overcoat. He was rather robust, and had a thought¬ 
ful quick look. Everyone spoke of him with respect. 

With the poet’s eldest son, Robert, I was a little ac¬ 
quainted. When I knew him he was living in Dumfries. 
He was a considerable scholar, and was fond of specula¬ 
tions in etymology. His head was somewhat bald, and 
bore a striking resemblance to his father’s cranium. There 
was little resemblance otherwise between the poet and 
his eldest son; for though the latter composed songs, 
these were under mediocrity. His reminiscences of the 
bard were interesting. He was ten years old when his 
father died, and he remembered him distinctly. In the 
family library were included the works of the principal 
English poets, and his father encouraged him to read them. 
But my informant did not know, during his father’s lifetime, 
that he had himself composed verses, and at first could not 


188 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


comprehend what was meant when so many persons after 
his death spoke to his mother about the poet. Burns sought 
no celebrity in his household. 

The poet’s two younger sons, Colonels William Nicol 
and James Glen cairn Burns, I long knew. The former 
still lives, ready to yield a helping hand to every good 
and patriotic undertaking. Colonel James Burns bore a 
little resemblance to his father, and he unhappily inherited 
from him a tendency to rheumatism. At the Glasgow 
City Hall banquet of the centenary celebration, he sup¬ 
plied the information that his father expressed himself to 
his mother in these words, “Jean, one hundred years hence 
they’ll think mair o’ me than they do now.” 

As an officer of excise, Burns was most attentive to his 
duties. This was lately ascertained under peculiar circum¬ 
stances. A chief officer of excise in London had conceived 
a strong prejudice against the bard, and, Mrs Stowe-like, 
had resolved to extinguish his claims to respect by examin¬ 
ing his accounts and proving them inaccurate. The result 
of his inquiry removed his prejudices and established the 
poet’s character for business. His entries in the excise 
books were found to be neatly and carefully made, and 
every account was correct. “ A first-rate man of business,” 
said the examiner, “ could not have been more methodical 
or more accurate.” 

Respecting the bard’s latter habits, I obtained from the 
late Rev. Thomas Tudor Duncan, M.D., minister of the 



LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


189 


New Church, Dumfries, some interesting particulars. His 
father, the Rev. George Duncan, minister of Lochrutton, 
a man of genial manners and enlightened character, ex¬ 
tended to the poet, when he first came to Dumfries, a 
generous hospitality. Mr Duncan taught his sons, Henry, 
afterwards minister of Ruth well, and my informant, then 
youths under seventeen, to regard him as a literary prodigy. 
At Lochrutton manse, Burns met country gentlemen and 
other leading persons of the district, and on these occasions 
conducted himself respectably. Reports, however, arose 
that at Dumfries he chose low company, and indulged in 
social excesses. For some time the minister of Lochrutton 
discredited the rumours; but at length it was impossible 
wholly to disregard them. Most reluctantly he felt called 
on to discontinue his invitations; others who had hospitably 
entertained the poet also gave him the cold shoulder. 

In the well-written “History of Dumfries” by my in- 
crenious friend, Mr William M‘Dowall, the fact that Burns 
was at this stage of his career abandoned by many of his 
old friends is minutely set forth. Mr M‘Dowall writes : 
“During an evening in the autumn of 1774, when High 
Street, Dumfries, was gay with fashionable groups of ladies 
and gentlemen passing down to attend a county ball in the 
Assembly Rooms, Burns was allowed to pass with hardly a 
recognition on the shady side of a street. Mr David 
McCulloch of Ardwell, noticing the circumstance, dis¬ 
mounted, accosted the poet, and proposed that he should 



190 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


cross the street. ‘ Nay, nay, my young friend,’ said the 
bard, ‘ that’s all over now.’ After a pause, he quoted two 
verses of Lady Grizel Baillie’s ballad : 

‘ His bonnet stood ance fu’ fair on his brow, 

His auld ane look’d better than mony ane’s new ; 

But now he lets’t wear ony way it will hing, 

And casts himself dowie upon the corn-bing. 

‘ O ! were we young, as we aince ha’e been, 

We sud ha’e been galloping down on yon green, 

And linking it over the lily-white lee ; 

And werena my heart light, I wad dee.’ ” 

The gift of genius will not excuse the infraction of social 
order and its laws; and Burns was not condemned rashly. 
His poetical reputation was at its zenith. By many of 
the most distinguished persons in North Britain he had 
been hailed and feasted; from following the plough he had 
been received into the best Edinburgh society; he main¬ 
tained a correspondence with eminent men, and intelligent 
women; and though for the present a gauger, he knew 
there was a disposition to elevate him to a collectorship of 
excise. He had, therefore, many inducements to maintain 
a correct deportment, while his religious upbringing and his 
own sense of what was due both to God and man, likewise 
demanded carefulness of conduct. Yet he fell into a snare. 
It was proper that he should pay the penalty. He did so, 
and it was a severe and terrible one. He had a tendency 
to heart disease, and it cannot be doubted that the agony 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS . 


191 


which he endured in the withdrawal of friendship accelerated 
the progress of the malady which latterly fettered and crushed 
him. In the possession of Mr Gracie of Dumfries, son of 
the poet’s old friend, Mr James Gracie, banker, I have seen 
a volume of Dr Blair’s Sermons, which, containing discourses 
on calumny and the ingratitude of the world, presents on 
the margin pencil annotations by the poet confirming the 
preacher’s words, and applying them to his own case. 
Local prejudices linger with a powerful tenacity. When 
an English gentlewoman visited Dumfries in 1814, she 
found, as she has related in a printed tour, that Burns 
was chiefly talked of as a libertine; and sentiments of a 
similar character have been expressed to myself in Dumfries 
within the last twenty years. 

One virtue Burns possessed pre-eminently, and none of 
his detractors have denied him the credit of it. I refer to 
his independence. My father used to relate the following 
anecdote, which he probably received from Allan Masterton. 
The poet was dining with his friend and patron, Lord Glen- 
cairn. Opposite to him sat a young English nobleman, 
who, presuming that the poet was a clown for whom the 
host had conceived an ill-judged fancy, filliped some drops 
of wine from his wine-glass into his face. The bard looked 
up and perceived the insult. Taking up his wine-glass, 
Ire dashed the contents at the aggressor, saying, “ In our 
country, my lord, we do it thus.” The nobleman wiped 
his face, and offered an apology. 


192 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS . 


For some years I held in my possession the original MS. 
of Burns’s ode, “ Scots Wha Ha’e.” It was appended to a 
letter addressed to Captain Miller of Dalswinton. The 
letter is in these words : 

“ Dear Sir, —The following ode is on a subject which I 
know you by no means regard with indifference: 


‘ O Liberty— 

Thou malc’st the gloomy face of nature gay, 

Giv’st beauty to the sun, and pleasure to the day. ’ 

It does me so much good to meet with a man whose honest 
bosom glows with the generous enthusiasm, the heroic 
daring of liberty, that I could not forbear sending you a 
composition of my own on the subject, which I really think 
is in my best manner, etc. 

“ Robert Burns.” 

By a son of Captain Miller the letter was presented to 
Mr Wallace of Kelly, M.P. for Greenock, as the supposed 
head of the Wallace family, and therefore its proper cus¬ 
todier. On the death of Mr Wallace, it passed to his 
brother, Lieut.-General Sir James Maxwell Wallace. Sir 
James mounted the letter in a mahogany frame, and with 
a view to its being finally deposited in the Wallace Monu¬ 
ment at Stirling, placed it in my hands. When I left 
Scotland in 1863, I returned it to Sir James. After his 


LOWLAND MINSTRELS. 


193 


death in 1867 it was, at a public auction, sold by his sur¬ 
vivors, and purchased by a stranger. 

Persons of genius, it is believed, inherit their powers 
chiefly from their mothers. In the case of Robert Burns 
this opinion is not verified. His sister, Mrs Begg, assured 
me that their mother’s mental qualities were very ordinary. 
“ But our father,” she added, “ was possessed of decided 
i ntellectual vigour, and would unquestionably have made a 
figure but for the continual pressure of poverty. He fore¬ 
saw the future eminence of my brother Robert; he said to 
my mother, when the boy was only eight or ten, ‘ Rob is a 
genius, and some day the world will know it.’ He said so 
thoughtfully; and my mother, who had great faith in his 
sentiments, cherished his words.” 

It is to be regretted, that amidst their enthusiasm for the 
name of Burns, Scotsmen have not been very systematic in 
the acknowledgment of his claims. Till her two sons in 
India were enabled to support her, Jean Armour, the poet’s 
widow, and the heroine of his songs, was maintained chiefly 
through the bounty of Lord Panmure. A nephew of the 
poet is at present a lunatic patient in the poor-house of 
Govan, where, too, her countrymen permitted the daughter 
of the compiler of “ Bibliotheca Britannica” to be supported 
by parochial charity. 

The triumphs which attended the lyric genius of Burns 

brought forward a host of competitors for the poetic wreath. 

Of these, the majority have passed away and are forgotten 

N 


194 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS . 


One eminently entitled to remembrance is Robert Tanna- 
hill. This ingenious song-writer was born at Paisley on 
the 3d June 1774. With a limited education at school, he 
became a hand-loom weaver in his native town. In 1807 
he published a volume, entitled “ Poems and Songs/’ and 
several of the compositions which it contained at once passed 
into celebrity. The Ayrshire Bard has produced no songs 
superior to “Jessie the Flower o’ Dunblane,” “Bonnie 
Wood o’ Craigie Lea,” “ Loudoun’s Bonnie Woods and 
Braes,” and “ The Braes o’ Balquhither.” 

From Matthew Tannahill, a younger brother of the 
Paisley Bard, I obtained some particulars of his history. 
He began to compose verses in boyhood, while his school¬ 
fellows were at play. Free of vanity in its more degrading 
forms, he was abundantly conscious of poetic skill; and 
being disappointed in obtaining recognition from George 
Thompson, the correspondent of Burns, or from Archibald 
Constable, the publisher, he became melancholy and de¬ 
pressed. To relieve disappointed hopes he had recourse 
to stimulants. To his brother, my informant, he began to 
complain of a prickling sensation in his head. “ You should 
give up drinking,” said Matthew, “ for I’ve heard that such 
a feeling often precedes insanity.” Robert promised, but 
the resolution came too late. During a visit to Glasgow he 
exhibited symptoms of lunacy. On his return home, he 
complained of illness, and took to bed. His brother, who 
attended him, left him in the evening about ten, believing 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


195 


that he was better. On returning two hours afterwards, he 
found the bed empty, and perceived that he had gone out. 
With the neighbours he made a search, and at length dis¬ 
covered the poet’s lifeless body in the river Cart. Tanna- 
hill terminated his own life on the 17th May 1810, at the age 
of thirty-six. With a generosity eminently characteristic of 
them, the inhabitants of Paisley provided an annuity for 
Matthew Tannahill, the poet’s brother, when, from old age, 
he was incapacitated for labour. In countenance he much 
resembled his brother Robert, and his portrait is made to 
represent the poet in several editions of his works. 

In a solitary nook at Aberfoyle, resided, a few years ago, 
two solitary females, where they were discovered by a cleri¬ 
cal friend, who, at my request, obligingly sought them out. 
These were the widow and daughter of William Glen, 
author of the song “ Waes me for Prince Charlie.” Glen 
died in 1826, in his thirty-seventh year, and, according to 
his wife’s statement, his MSS. soon after disappeared. One 
volume fell into the hands of Mr Gabriel Neil, an ingenious 
antiquary at Glasgow, who kindly placed it at my disposal. 
From its pages I selected several good songs, and published 
them. Glen was unfortunate in business, and the depressed 
condition of his affairs led to the dispersion of his MSS., 
and nearly bereft him of posthumous fame. 

Next to Burns in rank, as a national song-writer, is 
Carolina Oliphant, Baroness Nairne. This excellent gentle¬ 
woman was, according to papers in her family, born at Cask, 


106 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


Perthshire, on the 16th August 1766; but if we are to 
credit the Baptismal Register of her parish, on the same 
„ day of the preceding month. She was third daughter of 
Laurence Oliphant of Gask ,* the representative of a house 
claiming descent from Robert the Bruce, and a zealous 
adherent of the House of Stuart. She was named Carolina, 
in honour of Prince Charles Edward. 

From her youth Carolina composed verses. She was a 
zealous admirer of Burns, and about the period that the Ayr¬ 
shire Bard became a contributor to Johnson’s Museum , she 
commenced to substitute songs of a pure and wholesome 
character for the unrefined words associated with certain 
popular airs. In 1792 she produced her first song, anew 
version of “ The Ploughman.” It was sung at a public 
dinner given by her brother to the Gask tenantry, on 
his succeeding to the paternal estates. The death of the 
first-born of a dear friend led her to compose the “ Land o’ 
the Leal.” The history of this composition is interesting. 
Her school companion, Mary Anne Erskine, daughter of 
the Episcopal clergyman at Muthill, married, in 1796, 
Archibald Campbell Colquhoun of Killermont, Sheriff of 

* The Lord Oliphant of ye same surname descended of ye Lords of 
Aberdawgie. . . . This Baron is not of great revenue, but that he 

hath be good land and profitable. Few gentlemen of his surname, 
and soe of small power, yet a house very loyall to ye State of Scot¬ 
land, accompted no orators in their words, nor yet fooles in their deeds. 
They do not surmount in their alliances, but content with their wor- 
shipfull neighbours.— A/S. Genealogy of Scottish Peers in Public Record 
Office, London , circa, 1572-81. 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS . 


197 


Perthshire. About a year after her marriage, Mrs Col- 
quhoun gave birth to a daughter. When about a year old, 
the child sickened and died ; and to console the afflicted 
mother, Carolina sent her the verses of the “ Land o’ the 
Leal,” which soon afterwards found a place in the collec¬ 
tions. In 1806 she married her cousin, Major William 
Murray Nairne, who by the reversal of an attainder afterwards 
became Baron Nairne. After their marriage, Major and Mrs 
Nairne resided at Edinburgh, where the Major held office 
as Assistant-Inspector of Barracks. After his death, which 
took place in 1830, Lady Nairne lived in England and 
Ireland, and afterwards at Brussels and Paris. At Brussels, 
in December 1837, she sustained heavy affliction, by the 
death, in his twenty-ninth year, of her only son, the sixth 
Lord Nairne. In 1843 she returned from the Continent to 
her native Gask, where she expired on the 26th October 
1845, at the advanced age of seventy-nine. Her songs 
“ Caller Herrin’,” “ The Laird o’ Cockpen,” “ The Lass o’ 
Gowrie,” “ Wha’ll be King but Charlie,” “ The Hundred 
Pipers,” and others, have obtained a celebrity equal to the 
best songs of Burns. 

Of a singularly retiring nature, Lady Nairne sought to 
avoid distinction as an authoress. From the few friends to 
whom she communicated the secret of her minstrelsy, she 
exacted a promise that they would not reveal the origin ot 
her songs. While she lived, her secret was preserved, but 
after her death her relatives wisely resolved to do honour 


198 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


to her memory, by publishing her best songs with music. 
More recently I have presented her compositions in a 
compact little volume, accompanied with a memoir. In 
so doing, I experienced some difficulty, for in the reposi¬ 
tories of some of her correspondents her MSS. had got 
mixed up with those of others. Even in carefully preparing 
a second edition, I was led to include in the volume three 
compositions which more recent information has satisfied 
me were written by others.* 

Mrs Agnes Lyon, wife of the Rev. Dr James Lyon, 
minister of Glammis, and a contemporary of Lady Nairn e,' 
composed verses. Four volumes of MS. poetry she be¬ 
queathed to her daughter-in-law, a relative of my own, 
accompanied with the request that the compositions 
should not be printed except to replenish the family 
funds. She composed a song at the request of Neil 
Gow, to suit his air, “ Farewell to Whisky.” As it is often 
printed inaccurately, I subjoin the correct version. 

“ You’ve surely heard of famous Neil, 

The man who play’d the fiddle weel ; 

He was a heartsome merry chiel ; 

And weel he lo’ed the whisky, O ! 

For e’er since he wore the tartan hose 
He dearly liket A thole brose! 

And grieved was, you may suppose, 

To bid ‘ Farewell to Whisky,’ O ! 

* These are “The Mountain Wild,” “Bonnie Gascon Ha,” and 
“ The Rowan Tree.” 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


199 


“ Alas ! says Neil, I’m frail and auld, 

And whiles my hame is unco cauld ; 

I think it makes me blythe and bauld, 

A wee drap Highland whisky, O ! 

But a’ the doctors do agree 
That whisky’s no the drink for me ; 

I’m fley’d they’ll gar me tyne my glee, 

By parting me and whisky, O ! 

“ But I should mind on ‘ Auld Lang Syne,’ 

How Paradise our friends did tyne, 

Because something ran in their min’— 

Forbid—like Highland whisky, O ! 

Whilst I can get good wine and ale, 

And find my heart and fingers hale, 

I’ll be content, though legs should fail, 

And though forbidden whisky, O 

f ‘ I’ll tak' my fiddle in my hand, 

And screw it’s strings while they can stand, 

And mak’ a lamentation grand, 

For guid auld Highland whisky, O ! 

Oh ! all ye powers of music come, 

For, ’deed I think I’m mighty glum, 

My fiddle-strings will hardly bum, 

To say ‘ Farewell to Whisky,’ O !” 

Mrs Lyon died on the 14th September, 1840, in her 
seventy-eighth year. She was possessed of uncommon 
sprightliness, and to the last retained her vivacity. 

Sir Walter Scott was descended from the Scotts of Har- 


200 


LOWLAND MINSTRELS. 


den, the elder branch of the great Border sept of that name. 
There is a curious similarity in the aspects of these Scotts. 
An engraved portrait of the late Mr William Scott, of 
Teviot Bank, might be accepted as that of the author of 
“ Waverley.” The facial lineaments of the poet are common 
to his clan. They are of the Saxon type—rugged, massive, 
heavy, almost stolid. Scott’s bonhommie was derived from 
his maternal ancestors. The Rutherfords were genial, cul¬ 
tivated people—of mild and retiring manners. A cousin of 
Sir Walter, the late Mr Robert Rutherford, Writer to the 
Signet, I have met. With others he joined in expressing 
admiration of his illustrious relative, but he shrunk from 
referring to his relationship. He was extremely diffident. 

Scott, it is well known, was ambitious of founding a 
family. He more valued his descent from the Haliburtons 
than from the Scotts. From the former he inherited a right 
of sepulture in Dryburgh Abbey; and he was at pains to 
print for his family use, “ Memorials of the Haliburtons.” 
Except in possessing a pedigree, they were undistinguished. 

Sir Walter did not marry very fortunately. Lady Scott 
was not expert as a household manager, nor did she com¬ 
pensate by feminine graces for lack of housewifery. Her 
mother was a Frenchwoman, and having acquired French 
manners, she never abandoned them. English she spoke 
imperfectly, substituting de tor the , and otherwise betraying 
inaptitude in mastering the British tongue. There is a 
history connected with her early life and marriage which 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


201 


has been very partially related.* In 1796, Williamina 
Stuart, daughter of Sir John Stuart of Fettercairn, gave 
Scott her final “ No,” after a suit which he had prosecuted 
with juvenile ardour and persistence. During the same 
year, he experienced a second heartstroke in the unexpected 
marriage of his friend, William Erskine’s sister, to Mr Colqu- 
houn of Killermont. Whatever were his intentions towards 
the latter, the young lady herself believed that her marriage 
would cause him some disquietude, for in the immediate 
prospect of it, she wrote him an epistle (inserted by Mr 
Lockhart in the “ Memoir,”) in which she endeavours to 
offer him consolation. When in this letter she alludes to 
“ a dark conference they had lately held together,” I incline 
to think that she refers to the Williamina rejection being 
confided to her. 

Stung by unsuccessful love-making in one, if not in two 
instances, Scott resolved to compensate himself for wounded 
feelings and disappointed hopes. With Miss Erskine, the 
daughter of a poor Episcopal clergyman, he would not have 
added to the family fortunes ; it had been far otherwise if 
his suit had prospered with Williamina Stuart, who was an 
heiress. Scott was, however, drawn to Williamina from no 
worldly or mercenary considerations. Their mothers were 
early friends, and he loved her with his whole heart. But 
his love experiences had chilled him not a little; and pro- 

* The note at pp. 40-42 of my friend Mr Gilfillan’s “Life of Sir 
Walter Scott,” was communicated by me. 


20 2 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


bably he now contemplated an alliance which might render 
him independent of his profession as an advocate, which 
had heretofore done little for his finances or his fame. On 
the rising of the Court of Session in July 1797, he accom¬ 
panied his brother John, and their friend, Adam Fergusson, 
on a tour to the English Lakes. After visiting Carlisle, the 
vale of Eamont, Ulswater, and Windermere, they rested at 
the little spa of Gilsland. There Scott first met Charlotte 
Margaret Charpentier. 

The circumstances of the meeting are not very circum¬ 
stantially related by Mr Lockhart. I have obtained some 
details which I think may be relied upon. Arthur, Earl of 
Hillsborough, afterwards second Marquess of Downshire, 
resolved, while in his twenty-second year, to make the 
Continental tour, and obtained from the Rev. Mr Burd, 
an early friend, letters of introduction to M. Jean Char¬ 
pentier of Paris, who held office as provider of post-horses 
to the royal family. This introduction was attended with 
unhappy consequences, for Charlotte Volere, the wife of 
M. Charpentier, flattered by the attentions of the young 
English nobleman, foolishly eloped with him. She had a 
son and daughter, the former named Charles, the latter 
Charlotte Margaret, the second name resembling that of 
Lord Hillsborough’s mother. Charlotte Volere soon died, 
and Lord Hillsborough conceived himself entitled to pro¬ 
vide for her children. He placed the daughter in a 
French convent for her education, while for the boy he 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


203 


secured a lucrative appointment in India, his name being 
changed to Carpenter, on his naturalisation. In receiving 
his appointment, Charles Carpenter bound himself to settle 
on his sister an annuity of ^200. He became com¬ 
mercial resident at Salem, and proceeded to remit the 
promised pension. 

Having completed her education, Miss Carpenter pro¬ 
ceeded to London under the care of Miss Jane Nicolson, 
granddaughter of William Nicolson, Bishop of Carlisle, who 
became her companion, on being recommended by Mr Burd, 
now residentiary canon at Carlisle. At London, a young 
lady of pleasing aspects, with an income of ^200, was sure 
to attract suitors. Miss Carpenter gave preference to an 
admirer of whom Miss Nicolson disapproved. The dis¬ 
approval was communicated to her guardian, now Mar¬ 
quess of Downshire. He proposed that the ladies should 
visit the English Lakes, and requested his friend, Mr Burd, 
to secure them proper accommodation. As an early re¬ 
moval was desirable, Lord Downshire desired the ladies 
to immediately proceed to Carlisle, and there wait on Mr 
Burd, who would further direct them. When they reached 
Carlisle, Mr Burd and his family were on the eve of leaving 
for Gilsland as summer quarters ; they invited their visitors 
to accompany them. 

At Gilsland, Mr Burd’s party established themselves at 
the Spa Hotel, and, according to custom, were, as the 
latest guests, assigned seats at the bottom of the table. 


204 


LOWLAND MINSTRELS. 


Scott bad with his friends arrived only a little before; lit 
chanced to sit beside Mrs Burd, who, perceiving that he 
was a Scotsman, and ascertaining that he hailed from 
Edinburgh, inquired whether he knew her friend, Major 
Riddell, then stationed in Edinburgh Castle, and who with 
his regiment had lately been engaged in suppressing a 
popular outbreak at Tranent. Scott mentioned that the 
Major was one of his friends, and that he was in perfect 
health when he had seen him a few weeks before. A con¬ 
versation so auspiciously begun, naturally led to renewed 
intercourse, and afterwards to intimacy. Scott was not 
indifferent to the charming brunette who formed one of 
the clergyman’s party. He danced with her at the ball, 
handed her to the supper-room, and, seating himself by 
her side, attempted to talk French with her. It was whis¬ 
pered that the brown-eyed beauty possessed an income suf¬ 
ficient to meet the wants of an ordinary household. After 
a few weeks, he made proposals to her, and was accepted 
subject to the approbation of her guardian. Scott now 
communicated with Lord Downshire, and received in reply 
a formal letter, in which the Irish nobleman showed every 
disposition to be speedily relieved from a charge which 
was burdensome to him. To his communication his Lord- 
ship desired an answer by return of post; and it is to be 
presumed that it was satisfactory, for, with the exception of 
writing another short note, the Marquess did not further 
concern himself in the daughter of Charlotte Volere or 












LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


205 


her husband. If the husband expected an invitation to 
the Marquess’s seat, he was doomed to disappointment, 
tor, though his lordship survived some years, he remained 
silent. 

Scott’s marriage took place in St Mary’s Church, Carlisle, 
on the 24th December, 1797. To her expectant lord, the 
bride elect, ten days before, wrote thus : “ It is very unlucky 
you are such a bad housekeeper, as I am no better.” This 
was true ; and she did not improve. Her domestic admini¬ 
stration was thriftless. At times she ventured, perhaps 
good-naturedly, to charge her own want of economy upon 
her husband. “ Dis is de hotel with no pay,” she said to 
my friend, Mrs Hogg,* in her drawing-room at Abbots¬ 
ford, in allusion to a party then assembled. 

Of Sir Walter I received some pleasing reminiscences 
from Mrs Hogg. She said to me, “ Before I personally 
knew him, I regarded him with a veneration which I cannot 
express ; and w r hen he led me from the drawing-room to 
the dinner-table at Abbotsford, soon after my marriage, I 
felt ready to sink under the honour. But when I had some¬ 
time sat beside him, and listened to bis stories, my venera¬ 
tion changed into respect—a respect which was increased 
on every subsequent interview. One of our children was 
born with a weak foot; and Sir Walter, when he heard of 
it, expressed much concern. He spoke of having suffered 
much from lameness, and attributed his misfortune to want 


* Widow of the Ettrick Shepherd. 


206 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


of care and proper treatment. He never met me or my 
husband without tenderly asking for our little pet. “ How’s 
the footie?” he would say. The question, expressed in 
Sir Walter’s own kind manner, went to my heart.”* 

Those whom he had long known and regarded with 
affection, Sir Walter addressed by familiar names. My late 
friend, William Banks, of Edinburgh, was principal clerk and 
draughtsman to William H. Lizars, the eminent engraver, 
in St James’s Square. He had recommended himself to 
Scott’s notice by some successful drawings, and was ever 
after hailed with a “ How are ye, Willie ?” * In like fashion 
did he address the two Ballantynes, William Laidlaw, Wil¬ 
liam Erskine, and Allan Cunningham. Constable was his 
“fat friend;” James Hogg, “Shepherd;” and Sir Adam 
Fergusson was Linton —by that name he had been hailed 
by a Newhaven fisherman, who took him for a companion. 

Those who have read the little story of Pet Marjorie, 
have obtained an insight into the simple, loving nature of 
the author of “ Waverley.” The precocious child of six so 
delighted the warm-hearted poet, that he made himself a 
child again to join in her amusements. Writes Dr John 
Brown in his inimitable sketch of this short-lived prodigy : 
“ Having made the fire cheery, he set her down in his 
ample chair, and standing sheepishly before her, began to 
say his lesson, which happened to be— 

* This anecdote, and the others, at page 333 of Mr Gilfillan’s 
“ Memoir,” I supplied to that work. 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS . 


207 


‘ Ziccotty, diccotty dock, 

The mouse ran up the clock, 

The clock struck wan, 

Down the mouse ran ; 

Ziccotty, diccotty dock.’ 

“ This done repeatedly till she was pleased, she gave him 
his new lesson, gravely and slowly timing it upon her small 
fingers—he saying it after her— 

‘ Wonery, twoery, tickery seven; 

Alibi, crackaby, ten, and eleven; 

Pin, pan, musky, dan; 

Tweedle-um, twodle-um, 

Twenty-wan ; eerie, orie, ourie ; 

You—are—out ! ’ ” * 

Sir Walter was elected rector of St Andrews University 
in March 1825. The election of a rector unconnected with 
the ruling body was opposed to the then existing laws, and 
this fact was communicated to Sir Walter by Principal 
Nicoll. When a deputation of the students soon after 
waited upon him to request his acceptance of office, he 
gently counselled them to “respect the laws, and mind 
their studies.” 

My late friend, Professor Shank More of Edinburgh Uni¬ 
versity, gave me the following illustration of Scott’s delightful 
bonhommie. As my friend was in gown and wig walking 
one morning in the Parliament House, two gentlemen 

* “ Marjorie Fleming.” By John Brown, M.D. Edinburgh, 1871, 
i2mo, p. 9. 


208 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS . 


stepped up and politely asked him whether Sir Walter 
Scott was coming to court, and if so, when he would arrive? 
They added that they were Americans, and being in London 
on business, had come to Scotland on purpose to see the 
author of “ Waverley.” At that moment Scott entered the 
room; after pointing him out to the strangers, my friend 
walked up and hailed him. Having stated to him what 
had taken place, Sir Walter said : “ They pay me a great 
compliment by coming so far. I’ll take your arm, and will 
walk up and down, that they may have a proper view.” 
Professor More, in relating this anecdote, said that Scott 
was always considerate in his treatment of strangers, and 
that, though his patience was often sorely taxed, he con¬ 
stantly maintained his native geniality. 

Genial as he was, Sir Walter Scott has not escaped the 
shaft of the detractor. It has been customary for a class of 
narrow-minded Scotsmen to insinuate that the early decay of 
his intellectual powers was a Divine judgment on his hav¬ 
ing subjected to ridicule the adherents of “ the Covenant.” 
So recently as the 18th of March 1871, a writer in a Pres¬ 
byterian serial refers to the closing scenes of Scott’s life in 
these words : 

“Those who know what the reality was can see it all through the 
thin veil his son-in-law throws over it. It had all best be left in 
silence. If it had to be told again, Lockhart’s words and facts are 
the best. But there is no need to paint a halo of glory round it. 
'Tenderness to the dead : but faithfulness to the livinc.” 

CD 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


209 


The insinuation is that Scott died unhappily. The accuser 
betrays his own want of candour and veracity in the sen¬ 
tences which follow his impeachment. He continues : 

‘ ‘ It appears that a ‘ centenary ’ of something or other concerning 
Scott is at hand : the centenary of his going to school, or writing his 
first poem, or publishing his first novel; or, possibly, it may go farther 
back still than any of these events, and be the centenary of his leaving 
his cradle, or of going into it; and, in anticipation of this centenary, 
to be held, celebrated, or performed, we presume, at the Crystal 
Palace,' this book is written. Really it is time that some strong hand 
were laid on these centenary-makers. People grow weary of them. 
They have come to be rather for the glorification of the living than— 
than—what ? What do they mean ? What are they for ? Every 
minute of the invaluable present is the centenary moment of something 
in the past, if people had nothing better, nothing other to do than to 
keep counting and building the tombs of these prophets.”* 

Respecting the last hours of Sir Walter Scott, let it 
suffice to state that he died in perfect peace. Shortly be¬ 
fore his death, relates Mr Gibson in his lately-published 
“ Reminiscences,”! he desired a portion of St John’s Gospel 
to be read to him. His spirit passed peacefully away. 
From my venerated friend the Dean of Edinburgh, I have 
been favoured with the following statement, which will 
doubtless be read with satisfaction and interest: 

* Apparently by the same pen, an attempt was made in 1863 to 
detect heresy in Good Words , because the Dean of Westminster was 
then an occasional contributor to that excellent serial. 

f “Reminiscences of Sir Walter Scott,” by John Gibson, W.S. 
Edinburgh, 1871, p. 46. 


O 


210 


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. . . “ You ask me of the impression left on my mind 

by my visit to Abbotsford on the occasion of Lady Scott’s 
death. It is indeed a very easy and a very pleasing office 
to give you that impression. I could not but feel all the 
time I was there that our great Sir Walter was as much to 
be loved for the qualities of his heart as he had so long 
been admired for the high gifts of his intellect and his 
genius. He displayed throughout the whole time the sub¬ 
dued and calm spirit of a Christian mourner. There was 
manifest an entire acquiescence in the wisdom and goodness 
of his heavenly Father, who had bereaved him of the wife 
and companion of his early years. His kind, gentle man¬ 
ner to his domestics ; his devoted attention to his daughter, 
who was in deep distress; his serious appearance during 
the funeral service; his own proposal in the evening to 
have domestic worship, and his devotional manner at the 
time, have left a deep and pleasing impression on my mind 
—the impression that I had witnessed so much gentleness 
and so much right feeling, which I could not but per¬ 
ceive, were the genuine emotions of his heart. Sir Walter 
Scott was one of the good and the great of his race and 
country.” 

Allan Cunningham has been named. For this worthy 
man and ingenious poet Scott cherished a sincere affection ; 
when he visited the metropolis he always saw him, and he 
procured for two of his sons cadetships in the Indian army. 
Allan Cunningham died in 1842. With his son, Peter 


LOWLAND MINSTRELS. 


211 


Cunningham, author of “ A Handbook to London,” and 
other interesting works, I enjoyed an intimate acquaintance. 
He was a kind-hearted pleasant man, though perhaps rather 
too fond of society. About two years ago he died at St 
Albans, where he sometime lived in retirement. A labo¬ 
rious, painstaking writer, the various works published under 
his care attest his strict editorial and critical accuracy. In 
this respect he was a contrast to his father, who while to be 
commended as an original writer, lacked the power of re¬ 
search essential to properly editing the works of others. 
His edition of Burns contains many errors, which a little 
care would have avoided. 

The Cunninghams belonged to an old family, who were 
lords of that portion of Ayrshire which still bears their 
family name ; they afterwards became tenant-farmers, and 
latterly land-stewards and artificers. Contrary to ordinary 
rule, they seemed to gather intellectual force as they fell in 
social importance. Allan Cunningham had three brothers, 
who under unpromising circumstances cultivated learning 
and became authors. His elder brother, Thomas Mounsey 
Cunningham was an ingenious poet. 

A nephew of Allan Cunningham—son of one ol his 
sisters—was my late friend, William Pagan, of Clayton, 
Fifeshire, a man of considerable culture, and well-known as 
author of a work on “ Road Reform.” Mr Pagan became 
chief magistrate of Cupar-Fife, where he long conducted 
business as a solicitor and banker. He was remarkably 


212 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


facetious, and indulged a ready humour. He invented a 
method of keeping potatoes hot during dinner by means of 
a portable tin vessel which might be attached to the grate. 
“ A capital contrivance,” I remarked, “ you should give it a 
name.” “Yes,” he responded, “I will call it Pagan’s 
Patent Portable Potato Pan!” Mr Pagan was born in 
Dumfriesshire on the 6th May 1803, and died at Clayton 
on the 21st December 1869. 

Among Sir Walter Scott’s literary friends the most 
remarkable was James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd. Not 
eccentric in the sense of Hugh Miller, who persisted wear¬ 
ing his mason’s apron and fur cap long after he had laid 
aside the workman’s tools, Hogg was nevertheless a strange 
compound of genius and waywardness. A genius he was, 
and of a very high order; but not content with the gifts 
which he had received so bountifully, he laid claim to others 
which he did not possess, and the assumption of which 
rendered him ridiculous. He possessed a brilliant fancy, 
and when he entered the realms of faery, or soared among 
the stars, he was among Scottish Bards without a rival. 
But when he dealt with the concerns of ordinary life, or 
detailed his own mundane experiences, he was prone to 
borrow too freely from his imagination. He alleged that 
he was born on the 25th of January 1772, the day on 
which Burns saw the light thirteen years before, while a 
reference to the family bible or the baptismal register would 
have shown him that he was baptized in December 1770. 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


213 


He was nearly self-educated, but he had received from his 
parents a little further training than he was willing to avow. 
His early mishaps in sheep-farming were not entirely owing 
to diseased flocks, but were partly due to his mismanage¬ 
ment. In the concerns of business he was utterly helpless, 
and under no possible circumstances could have succeeded. 

He sprung from a race of shepherds, and of his descent 
he was proud. In his writings, he constantly styled 
himself “The Ettrick Shepherd.” When introduced into 
the literary society of the Scottish capital, he laid aside the 
rough vestments of the sheep-fold and apparelled himself 
in decent black. In church none would appear more be¬ 
comingly attired. From his youth, accustomed to the 
native Doric, he never attempted any other dialect. But 
his conversation was not coarse, or in the ordinary sense 
vulgar. His chief peculiarity was to talk about himself, and 
to this weakness those who knew him easily reconciled 
themselves. Though abundantly egotistical, his conceit did 
not lead him to disparage others. He quarrelled with 
Scott and Wordsworth for having, as he conceived, under¬ 
valued him, but some kindly words made him friendly as 
before. As a writer of prose fiction, he only reached 
mediocrity; and some of his longer poems, such as “ Mador 
of the Moor,” were hastily composed, and rashly printed. 
But he was withal a great poet. His ballad of “ Kilmeny ” 
in the “ Queen’s Wake ” is unrivalled as a pure and perfect 
ideal of fairy superstition. The “Witch of Fife ” is startling 


214 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


in its wild unearthliness, and many passages in the “Pil¬ 
grims of the Sun ” are sublime and splendid. His ballads 
and songs are replete with pathos and pastoral dignity. 
Though he had written only “ When the Kye come hame ” 
and “ Flora Macdonald’s Lament,” he had been entitled to 
sterling reputation as a song-writer. 

Sir Walter, when he resided at Abbotsford, would occa¬ 
sionally take a ride into Ettrick to spend an hour or two 
with the Shepherd at Altrive. On one of these occasions, 
as Mrs Hogg related to me, Sir Walter remarked in the 
Shepherd’s library a set of volumes bound in calf, and 
labelled “ Scott’s Novels.” He drew out a volume; it was 
“ Waverley.” “ Ah ! your binder has introduced a t too many 
in the word Scots,” said Sir Walter. “ Not at all,” answered 
Hogg, “I wrote the copy mysel’.” The Novelist smiled, 
for he had not yet divulged his secret. 

A frequent and welcome visitor at the Shepherd’s house 
was John Gibson Lockhart, who after his marriage with 
Sophia Scott, resided at Chiefswood, a pleasant villa near 
Abbotsford. In those days he had contracted few of those 
cynical asperities which afterwards characterised him : and 
though his conversation was not free from its peculiar 
blemishes, the Shepherd regarded him with a sincere affec¬ 
tion, and hoped that an increased experience and the 
genial example of Sir Walter Scott would cause him to 
abjure his acrimony. It was with these expectations that, 
when he proceeded to London, in 1825, to edit the 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


215 


Quarterly Review, the Shepherd approved of his nephew, 
Robert Hogg, accompanying him as his literary assistant. 
Robert returned to Scotland after a few months, and the 
Shepherd found that, as he became older, the Reviewer 
became less amiable, and that he took delight in exposing 
the weaknesses, and injuring the fame, even of those who 
had befriended him. 

Before his departure for London, Lockhart returned the 
hospitalities of his literary friends by inviting them to an 
entertainment at Edinburgh. A considerable number 
assembled, and all were merrily disposed; but the host 
had fallen into one of his worst moods, and would not 
speak. The only word he uttered was a monosyllable. A 
friend, who sat near, asked him to name the wine circulated 
during dinner. He said “ Hock !” For this anecdote I am 
indebted to my late friend, Mr William Tait of Priorbank, 
the originator and first publisher of the magazine which 
bore his name. Mr Tait mentioned the name of his in¬ 
formant-one of the party. 

The Ettrick Shepherd married somewhat late in life. 
His wife, Margaret Phillips, was daughter of a respectable 
farmer in Annandale, and had, through her brother-in-law, 
Mr James Gray of the High School, mixed in good society 
at Edinburgh. Not a few years before she consented to 
share his lot, she had been celebrated by the Shepherd in 
two of his best songs, “ When Maggie gangs away/’ and 
“ Ah, Peggy since thou’rt gane away.” His choice of this 


216 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


excellent woman as his partner in life was one of the most 
prudent steps of his career. It was so characterised by Sir 
Walter Scott as he proposed the toast of the newly-married 
pair at Abbotsford; but who, when he had got the length 
of saying “ I did not think our friend had so much good 
sense,” was interrupted by the Shepherd with “ I dinna 
thank ye for that, Sir Walter !” 

With Mrs Hogg I became acquainted in 1853, when she 
was spending a season at Bridge of Allan. I was surprised 
to learn that though eighteen years a widow, she had re¬ 
ceived from the State no recognition of her husband's 
genius. Finding that she declined personally to represent 
her claims, I invited public attention to the subject in the 
Times newspaper, and drew up a memorial in her favour, 
addressed to the Premier, Lord Aberdeen. Subscribed by 
upwards of forty eminent persons, including the late pa¬ 
triotic Earl of Eglinton, Alfred Tennyson, and Sir Archi¬ 
bald Alison, the memorial was forwarded to the Premier, 
while its prayer was supported by the Marquess of Breadal- 
bane, Lord Panmure, and several Scottish Members of Par¬ 
liament. Lord Aberdeen granted a pension of ^50, and 
soon afterwards I had the pleasure of handing to Mrs Hogg 
a cheque for ^100, subscribed on her behalf at Cincinnati. 

On the occasion of obtaining his signature to the memo¬ 
rial for Mrs Hogg’s pension, I had a short interview with 
Scott’s attached friend, Sir Adam Fergusson, then beyond 
fourscore. He was very feeble, and his vision was so im- 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


217 


perfect, that I had to guide his hand in subscribing the 
memorial. He spoke about old times; and after mention¬ 
ing his last interview with the Shepherd, he burst into tears, 
saying, “ Poor Hogg ! Poor Hogg ! ” 

Mrs Hogg and her family, I knew intimately. Of 
her four daughters, one was married in London, and died 
young; she is interred in the Highgate cemetery. Two 
others are comfortably married in Scotland. The eldest 
daughter, a spinster, enjoys a civil-list pension, which she 
received from Lord Palmerston. James Hogg, the poet’s 
only son, engaged in banking concerns at Ceylon, and 
afterwards at Sydney. He now resides at Linlithgow. 
Mrs Hogg died at Linlithgow on the 15 th November 
1870, about the age of eighty. She was an admirable 
woman. Judicious in household administration, she de¬ 
voted herself to her husband’s comfort, and to the proper 
upbringing of her children. The Shepherd’s profuse hospi¬ 
tality had subjected her to some inconvenience, and his 
personal habits were not quite conformable with her tastes. 
But she never uttered a complaint. Only on one subject 
she felt keenly : she conceived that her husband’s reputa¬ 
tion was endangered by the words and acts attributed to 
him in the Nodes of Blackwood's Magazine , and she insisted 
that those papers should be stopped. With her husband’s 
poetical designation, she had no sympathy; she always 
spoke of him as Mr Hogg. After his death she courted 
retirement, and though she resided in Edinburgh for nearly 


218 


LOWLAND MINSTRELS. 


eighteen years, few literary persons in the city knew that 
she was amongst them. She was a zealous adherent of the 
Free Church, and was much respected for her piety and 
unostentatious benevolence. She latterly resided at Lin¬ 
lithgow, where I used to visit her frequently. Irrespective 
of her pleasing reminiscences, I always experienced in her 
society pleasure and edification. She was a kindly hostess, 
an intelligent companion, and a generous friend. 

Sometime before his death, the Ettrick Shepherd edited 
a new edition of Burns, conjointly with William Motherwell. 
The career of this poet was a melancholy one. An indus¬ 
trious writer at the first, he became, like Tannahill, a victim 
to social excesses. His end was tragic. Of Motherwell, a 
correspondent at Hamilton has communicated to me the 
following anecdote : “ In the session 1818-19, Motherwell 
and I sat on the same bench in Professor Young’s junior 
Greek class in Glasgow University. On one occasion 
Motherwell was not present in time to answer to his name 
when the roll was called, and he was fined a penny. On 
the plea that he had entered be'fore the whole of the names 
were called over, he refused to pay, and was ordered to re¬ 
main after the dismissal of the class to give reasons for his 
recusancy. I lingered to hear the anticipated wrangle. The 
professor asked him why he refused to pay. “ Because,” said 
Motherwell, “ the rule is that the roll should not be com - 
menced till the bell has ceased ringing, and I was in the 
class-room before it had done so.” “ Why make so much 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


219 


work about a penny?” said the professor. Motherwell 
answered, “Yes, sir ! I will dispute about a penny, and I 
would dispute about a straw if I knew I was in the right!” 
The fine was remitted. 

With Thomas Lyle, a contemporary of Motherwell, I 
became acquainted in his latter years. He had edited a 
respectable volume of “ Ancient Ballads ; ” but his fame 
mainly rested on his having written the song of “ Kelvin 
Grove.” Poor Lyle was one of those sons of genius who 
are born to mischance. As a surgeon, he long practised at 
Airth in Stirlingshire, but being regarded as more devoted 
to gathering rare plants than to the art of healing, he was 
not successful in his practice. Latterly he removed to 
Glasgow, but his circumstances amended but slightly. He 
was subjected to much annoyance on account of the song 
on which his poetical reputation rested being some time 
assigned to another. He proved his title, and never for¬ 
got the little conflict he had in sustaining it. Lyle was 
born at Paisley in 1792, and died at Glasgow in April 
1859. My friend, Dr John Robertson, of the High 
Church, visited him on his death-bed, and had suitable 
conversations with him. As he had latterly lived in ob¬ 
scurity, his departure was scarcely noticed in the news¬ 
papers. Kelvin Grove, which he has celebrated, is nearly 
as forgotten as the poet himself. A part of the city of 
Glasgow is now built upon its banks. 

Not more familiar with the public than the name of 


220 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


Thomas Lyle is that of Alexander Carlile. Yet a song 
from his pen maintains a popularity even exceeding that of 
“ Kelvin Grove.” “ Oh, wha’s at the window? wha, wha? ” 
founded on Wedderburn’s “ Quho is at my windo’ ? quho, 
quho?” is familiar to every lover of Scottish melody, and 
is sung with equal zest in the cottage shieling and in the 
fashionable boudoir. Mr Carlile was a respectable manu¬ 
facturer at Paisley. During his latter years, when I knew 
him, he was a grave and reverend-looking old man. He 
was much in his library, which was stored with the best 
works. He had studied at Glasgow University, and he 
was an occasional contributor to the periodicals. Some 
years before his death he published a volume of poems, 
but the work did not find acceptance. He composed his 
one popular song early in life. 

Mr Carlile was eminently patriotic. When, in 1856, the 
movement for a monument to Wallace was publicly in¬ 
augurated, he wrote to me in these terms : “ I am glad 
to see a stir made about a monument to Wallace. I have 
long wondered that our great hero should have so long 
remained without such an honour being conferred on his 
memory. The Abbey Craig is just the spot for such a pur¬ 
pose. Not merely capitalists but the public at large should 
be appealed to. Enthusiasm could easily be awakened, 
and a large sum might be raised. Bruce, too, should have 
his monument at the stone which, during the great battle, 
bore his banner.” Mr Carlile saw the Wallace Monument 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


221 


enterprise launched and in progress. He died in August 
i860, at an advanced age. 

Also the author of a popular song, another native of the 
West of Scotland is entitled to remembrance. When a 
student at the University of Aberdeen in 1826, John Park, 
afterwards minister of St Andrews, composed “ Where 
Gadie rins,” which has ever since maintained its popularity. 
He was a native of Greenock, where his father kept a 
hotel. Having studied for the ministry, he was in 1831 
elected pastor of Rodney Street Presbyterian church, Liver¬ 
pool. In 1843 he was presented to the church-living of 
Glencairn, and in 1854 was translated to the first charge 
at St Andrews. He was an eloquent preacher and an ac¬ 
complished musician. He composed many tunes, some of 
which have been published. In regard to his song “ Gadie 
rins,” Dr Park thus communicated with me in 1855 : 

“ The air is old. I heard it whistled by a fellow-student 
at Aberdeen, and tried these words for it. The only words 
he could give me as old ones were— 

‘ O an’ I were where Gadie rins, 

Where Gadie rins, where Gadie rins, 

O an’ I were where Gadie rins, 

At the back o’ Benochie. ’ 

But he told me that a Scottish officer in Egypt had been 
much affected and surprised on hearing a soldier’s wife 
crooning the song to herself, and this, I believe, was the 
hint upon which I tried the verses. The air is undoubtedly 


222 


LOWLAND MINSTRELS. 


old, from its resemblance to several Gaelic and Irish airs. 
I have been surprised—though it would be affectation not 
to say agreeably surprised—by the interest which has been 
felt in connection with this trifle.” 

Dr Park died on the 8th April 1865. He was an amiable, 
kind-hearted man, and had his vigorous intellectual powers 
been more concentrated, he would have secured a wider 
fame. 

Andrew Park, another west-country bard, composed twelve 
volumes of poems. “ Silent Love,” his best poem, passed 
into several editions. Park was born at Renfrew in March 
1807, and was trained to business. He was first a dealer in 
hats, and afterwards a bookseller; but his restless sociable 
nature disqualified him for the duties of the counter. 
When I became acquainted with him in 1856, he was a 
gentleman at large, subsisting by his wits, and courted for 
his society. Of an agreeable demeanour, and always ap¬ 
parelled in becoming vestments, he was presentable at any 
table, and he dined out almost daily. His home, if he had 
one, must have been stored sparingly, for his works sold 
slowly, and he would not have recourse to a subscription. 
He died at Glasgow in December 1863. His admirers 
have, in the cemetery at Paisley, reared a monument to his 
memory. 

With Hugh Macdonald, the Glasgow poet, I formed a 
slight acquaintance in 1857. I was struck with his unpre¬ 
tentious frankness. He was then editing the Glasgow 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


223 


Times. To that newspaper he contributed “ Days at the 
Coast,” a series of papers descriptive of scenery on the 
Clyde, which he afterwards published in a collected form. 
He had previously been sub-editor of the Glasgow Citizen , 
and he afterwards joined the literary staff of the Morning 
Journal. He died in March i860, at the age of forty-three. 
Macdonald’s poetical writings were published posthumously, 
accompanied with a memoir. They evince elegant fancy, 
and an enthusiastic love of nature. His volume of prose 
sketches, entitled “ Rambles round Glasgow,” abounds in 
historical information, combined with pleasing descriptions 
of natural scenery. Macdonald was born in humble cir¬ 
cumstances, and persisted in using the native Doric. By 
a considerable circle of literary friends, his genius was 
much appreciated. After his decease a thousand pounds 
were subscribed as a provision for his family. 

The greatest poetical genius of the west country for at 
least half-a-century was James Macfarlan. This strangely- 
constituted individual may not be easily described. The 
Ettrick Shepherd used to say when a limner failed to pro¬ 
duce a satisfactory portrait of him, that his “ face was out 
of all rule of drawing.” He was right, for his cheek-bones 
did not match, one being longer than the other. In the 
character of James Macfarlan there was a like want of 
symmetry. He was a poet born, yet rags, meanness, 
leasing, and drink were also in a manner native to him. 
Viewing him on one side, we discover a lofty poetical 


224 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


genius of noble aspirations; observing him on the other, 
we remark a spectacle at which the moralist would stare 
and the compassionate might weep. 

Having read some of Macfarlan’s verses, I desired to 
form his acquaintance, and I met him by appointment at 
the office of the Glasgow Bulletin some time in 1856. Our 
interview was short, and had I chanced to meet him prior 
to reading his verses, it would have been shorter still. 
Appearance of genius he had none. Of slender form, 
tattered garments, and commonplace features, he seemed 
every inch the gaberlunzie. Nor did his manner of conver¬ 
sation tend to modify the impression. Low society he 
loved, and his best verses were written amidst the fumes 
of tobacco and drink. His muse was always ready; and 
on the margins of old newspapers, amidst the distractions 
of a tap-room, he would inscribe admirable verses. With 
equal promptitude he could invent a tale of distress, or 
feign a family bereavement, to obtain sixpences. He was 
born in the Calton, Glasgow, in April 1832. His educa¬ 
tion consisted in desultory attendances at schools in Glas¬ 
gow, Kilmarnock, and Greenock. His father, a native of 
Ireland, was a pedlar, and for the same precarious occupa¬ 
tion destined the young poet. But he would not take to 
the pack; he preferred to contribute verses to the Glasgow 
newspapers. At length he procured the secretaryship of 
the Glasgow Athenceum. This appointment was soon for¬ 
feited to reckless inebriety and neglect of duty. He now 


LOWLAND MINSTRELS. 


225 


reported to the newspapers, but his irregular habits again 
threw him out of employment. In 1854, a London book¬ 
seller undertook to publish a volume of “ Poems,” from 
his pen ; but as he did not pay the printer, as had been 
stipulated, the sheets were “wasted.” He published his 
“City Songs ” in 1855 ; some profit which this work brought 
him was dissipated by his excesses. He afterwards printed 
some poetical opuscules, which, bleared and dingy, he sold 
for what he could procure. What he realised by hawking 
his verses, he consumed in the pot-house. 

I corresponded with Macfarlan for some time, and tried 
to help him; but at first to little purpose. In 1861 he sent 
me a poem on “Wallace,” which I printed and distributed, 
receiving a few pounds for the writer. I afterwards en¬ 
gaged him as contributor to a periodical, on the condition 
that he would keep sober; he became an abstainer, but 1 
suspect violated his pledge, for he soon after begged me for 
money under the menace that if it did not reach him by an 
early post he would destroy himself. Of a sudden his 
letters ceased, and I conceived that he had again plunged 
into dissipation. But he was ill. Lack of proper food and 
clothing, together with his unfortunate habits, had seriously 
impaired a constitution at no time robust. He was confined 
to his sick chamber, if a cold wretched attic without furni¬ 
ture, and nearly without bedclothes, might be so named. 
Some kind neighbours showed an abundant compassion, 
and supplied him with food, medicine, and warm clothing. 


226 


LOWLAND MINSTRELS. 


A physician gratuitously attended him, and my late friend 
Dr John Robertson of the High Church, conversed with 
him on his spiritual concerns. The dying poet expressed 
a deep regret for his follies, and avowed his confidence 
in the Saviour. He died at Glasgow on the 5th Novem¬ 
ber 1862, at the age of thirty-one. No poet more ingenious 
had sprung from the ranks of the people since the days of 
Burns. He did not compose songs, though several of his 
compositions might be set to music and sung. His muse 
celebrated the nobler instincts and aspirations of humanity. 
His language is chaste, exact, and terse ; in the graceful 
flow of numbers, he strikingly excels. The dignity of the 
industrial calling has never been celebrated more powerfully 
than in his ode to “ The Lords of Labour,” which I subjoin : 

“They come, they come, in a glorious march, 

You can hear their steam-steeds neigh, 

As they dash through Skill’s triumphal arch, 

Or plunge ’mid the dancing spray. 

Their bale-fires blaze in the mighty forge, 

Their life-pulse throbs in the mill, 

Their lightnings shiver the gaping gorge, 

And their thunders shake the hill. 

Ho ! these are the Titans of toil and trade, 

The heroes who wield no sabre ; 

But mightier conquests reapeth the blade 
That is borne by the Lords of Labour. 

“ Brave hearts like jewels light the sod, 

Through the mists of commerce shine, 


LOWLAND ML NS 7 RELS. 


9 9 ' 


And souls flash out like stars of God, 

From the midnight of the mine. 

No palace is theirs, no castle great, 

No princely pillar’d hall, 

But they well may laugh at the roofs of state 
’Neath the heaven which is over all. 

Ho ! these are the Titans of toil and trade, 

The heroes who wield no sabre ; 

But mightier conquests reapeth the blade 
Which is borne by the Lords of Labour. 

‘ ‘ Each bares his arm for the ringing strife, 

That marshals the sons of the soil, 

And the sweat-drops shed in their battle of life 
Are gems in the crown of toil. 

And better their well-won wreaths, I trow, 

Than laurels with life-blood wet ; 

And nobler the arch of a bare, bold brow, 

Than the clasp of a coronet. 

Then hurrah for each hero, although his deed 
Be unknown by the trump or tabor ; 

For holier, happier far is the meed 
That crowneth the Lords of Labour ! ” 

I hope some enterprising publisher may be induced, 
under suitable editorship, to collect and publish Macfarlan’s 
writings. The undertaking commended itself to Charles 
Dickens, but he too has passed away. 

Alexander Smith, author of the “ Life Drama,” and 
otherwise celebrated as a poet and miscellaneous writer, 


22 8 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


was bom at Kilmarnock, on the 31st December 1829. By 
his father, he was trained as a pattern-drawer, but he did 
not relish the vocation. To the columns of the Glasgow 
Citizen , he contributed verses in early manhood, but these 
seem to have passed without notice. In 1851 he sent a 
selection of his more matured compositions to the Rev. 
George Gilfillan, soliciting his opinion and advice. Mr 
Gilfillan commended the poetry, and introduced the writer 
to the columns of The Critic , a London serial. In that 
periodical the “Life Drama” first appeared. It 1852 it 
was published in a volume by Mr Bogue, who paid the 
author one hundred pounds. Mr Smith suddenly found 
himself famous ; he proceeded to London, where he be¬ 
came the lion of literary circles. On his return to the 
north, he was entertained by the Duke of Argyll at 
Inverary. 

In 1854, the Secretaryship of Edinburgh University 
became vacant, and Mr Smith was encouraged to become 
a candidate. The Town Council were patrons, and a per¬ 
sonal canvass was necessary. The poet called at the house 
of a magistrate, but only found the bailie’s sister, who 
endeavoured to dissuade him from wasting time in a hope¬ 
less candidature. “ Poor gentleman,” she said, “ you 
have not a shadow of chance ; my brother is pledged to 
another.” But Mr Smith persevered, and was chosen. 
After his election, a friend, who had accompanied him 
in his canvass, sent him a telegram announcing the 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


229 


event. The poet answered in these words—“ Poor Miss 
D—k !” He had not been known as a humorist be¬ 
fore. 

Not long after Alexander Smith entered on his duties 
in Edinburgh College, I asked him to subscribe the 
memorial to the Prime Minister on behalf of Mrs Hogg. 
He did so, remarking that, unlike those who had pre¬ 
viously signed, he could add no literary honours to his 
name. “No matter,” I replied; “Lord Aberdeen will 
know that only one Alexander Smith would be invited 
to subscribe a petition like the present.” “ If I live,” 
said the poet, “ I will make the name known throughout 
the world.” I was gratified by the aspiration. The 
poet afterwards consented to write an essay on Scottish 
Ballads, for the third volume of my “ Scottish Minstrel 
he changed his mind and contributed it to the Edinburgh 
University Essays. In the same year he published his 
“ City Poems,” and soon afterwards married. He planted 
his household tree at Wardie, near Granton. As secretary 
to the University, he received at first a salary of ,£150 ; 
latterly, £200. He employed his spare time in writing 
for the booksellers, and in contributing to public journals. 
His prose compositions were not less esteemed than his 
poems. In 1863, he published “ Dreamthorpe,” a volume 
of essays. His “ Summer Life in Skye,” a work of en¬ 
tertaining reading, was issued in 1865. During the follow¬ 
ing year, he published in Good Words, and afterwards 


230 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


separately, his well-written romance, “ Alfred Hagart’s 
Household.” 

He worked hard and constantly, till his health became 
unsettled. On the 20th November 1866, he was pros¬ 
trated by typhoid fever; he died on the 5th of January. 
All who knew him lamented his premature departure. His 
manners were genial, and he was, when health allowed, 
always at the post of duty. Of middle stature, he was well 
built; he had a massive forehead, but an unpleasant squint 
impaired the general expression of his countenance. As a 
poet, he will be remembered more for striking passages in 
the “ Life Drama,” than for any sustained effort. 

In 1854, I began to correspond with Alexander Laing, 
author of “ Wayside Flowers.” Laing was born at Brechin, 
in May 1787, and resided in that place during his whole 
life. He was originally employed in flax-dressing; he sub¬ 
sequently engaged in small merchandise, and was successful 
in securing a little independence. He has written some 
excellent lyrics. Among these, one of the best is his song, 
entitled “ My Ain Wife,” and which, as it deserves to be 
better known, I present below— 


“ I wadna gi’e my ain wife 
For ony wife I see ! 

For, oh ! my dainty ain wife, 
She’s aye sae dear to me. 

A bonnier yet I’ve never seen, 
A better canna be ; 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS . 


231 


I wadna gi’e my ain wife 
For ony wife I see. 

“ Though beauty is a fadin’ flower, 

As fadin’ as it’s fair, 

It looks fu’ weel in ony wife, 

An’ mine has a' her share. 

She ance was ca’d a bonnie lass— 
She’s bonnie aye to me ; 

I wadna gi’e my ain wife 
For ony wife I see. 

“ Oh, couthy is my ingle-cheek, 

An’ cheery is my Jean ; 

I never see her angry look, 

Nor hear her word on ane. 

She’s gude wi’ a’ the neebours roun’, 
An’ aye gude wi’ me ; 

I wadna gi’e my ain wife 
For ony wife I see. 

“ But oh, her looks sae kindly, 

They melt my heart outright, 

When ower the baby at her breast 
She hangs wi’ fond delight. 

She looks intil his bonnie face, 

An’ syne looks to me : 

I wadna gi’e my ain wife 
For ony wife I see.” 


Mr Laing was enthusiastic in his love of song, a zealous 
Sabbath-school teacher, and a pious office-bearer of the 
Church. 


232 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


Next to Alexander Laing, I am led to name John Nevay, 
the poet of Forfar. He was author of several volumes of 
verses, and much valued himself on his poetical ability. 
He regarded contemptuously most of his Scottish contem¬ 
poraries, and like John Edmund Reade conceived that 
his merits were a-head of his age. With the exception of a 
short ballad entitled “The Emigrant’s Love Letter,” his 
writings evince little power. He was born in 1792 and 
died about a year ago. 

John Younger, the St Boswells shoemaker, and author of 
the “ Prize Essay on the Sabbath,” was, like Nevay, suf¬ 
ficiently conscious of intellectual superiority, but was withal 
a man of fine taste, some poetical fancy, and great conver¬ 
sational talent. Had he received substantial scholastic 
training, he would unquestionably have attained eminence. 
An hour’s talk with Younger was a positive enjoyment. In 
conversing he did not abandon his work, and was never more 
diligent with the awl than when engaged in a keen argument 
or in relating some literary experience. In 1849 he gained, 
among 1045 competitors, the second of three prizes offered 
for an Essay on the Sabbath. On this occasion he was 
conveyed to London, introduced to the Prince Consort, and 
celebrated in Exeter Hall. Latterly he became Postmaster 
at St Boswells; he also added to his revenues by hook¬ 
dressing. He died in i860, leaving several volumes of 
compositions carefully written out and ready for publication. 

With Elliot Aitchison, the Hawick weaver-poet, I got 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


233 


acquainted in 1854; he was a little mean-looking man, with 
no appearance of genius. But he composed verses full of 
sentiment and music, and it is to be regretted that a mor¬ 
bid diffidence kept him in the shade. I tried to befriend 
him by drawing attention to his merits, and thereby in¬ 
curred his resentment. A newspaper writer represented 
after his decease that I had embittered his last years. 
Aitchison died in 1858 at an advanced age. A plain tomb¬ 
stone in Wilton churchyard marks his grave. The following 
“canzonet in the style of the sixteenth century” is a speci¬ 
men of his manner: 

“To campes and courts lett others rove 
In quest of ranke and fame ; 

To these repayre who tytles love, 

To those who seeke a name. 

“ The slaves of gayne, with toyle and payne 
May compasse lande and sea ; 

But love who may, att home I’ll stay— 

A shephearde’s lyfe for mee. 

“ I’d rather rise at earlie dawne, 

When summer wedds with spryng, 

And leade my flocke to hill or lawne 
While merrie larks doe syng, 

“ Than reel to bedd with aching hedde 
Throwe wyne and revellrie, 

Such pleasures still, pursewe who will— 

A shephearde’s lyfe for mee. 


234 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


“ The straynes thatt flow in courtlie halle 
May please a courtlie eare, 

But give me still at evening’s falle 
Or rysing morne to heare 

“ From dulcet throates the unbought notes 
Of nature’s minstrelsie, 

Whyle syren lays reape pelf and prayse— 

A sheaphearde’s lyfe for me. 

‘ ‘ Let gold and state the world beguile, 

Content can scorne them both ; 

She hangs not on a prince’s smyle, 

Or yett a courtier’s troth. 

“ The thyrste of gayne could Ophir drayne, 

Nor quencht withal would bee ; 

Sae wealth adieu, and honours too— 

A shephearde’s lyfe for mee.” 

James Telfer, the Liddesdale poet, I never met; but we 
some time corresponded. He had been a shepherd, and be¬ 
came a schoolmaster; better he had continued at his original 
occupation, for his school fees never exceeded thirty pounds 
a year, and his school-house was a ruin. He published a 
volume of well-written “Tales and Sketches” and composed 
ballads in the Scottish manner. He died in 1863 aged 
sixty-two. Since his death his merits have become more 
generally known, chiefly through the good offices of Mr 
Robert White of Newcastle, who early recognised his 
genius. Telfer unhappily indulged in sarcasm against those 


LOWLAND MINSTRELS. 


235 


who had offended him. He loved seclusion, and was 
taciturn, but in the presence of familiar friends he evinced 
considerable powers of criticism. 

With Henry Scott Riddell, author of “Scotland Yet” 
and other popular songs, I enjoyed a long and pleasant 
intimacy. Riddell had, like Telfer, originally been a 
shepherd, and though he subsequently became a licentiate 
of the Church, and mixed in society, he retained the simple 
manners of the pastoral life. Through illness he was un¬ 
able to follow the ministerial profession, and for many years 
occupied a cottage at Teviothead, which he held from the 
Duke of Buccleuch, with an annuity and small portion of 
land. His poetical merits, I conceived, were worthy of 
State recognition; but I failed, after repeated efforts, to 
procure him a pension on the Civil List. I got him, how¬ 
ever, some treasury grants and one or two donations from 
the Royal Literary Fund. 

Under more favourable circumstances, Henry Scott Rid¬ 
dell would have obtained a wider fame. Unlike Burns, 
and Hogg, and Tannahill, his songs were not always set to 
music by competent composers; and an unhappy inactivity 
of nature prevented his seeking a proper publicity. His 
prose writings were unhappily verbose, but with a little 
pruning would have sustained a literary reputation. He was 
an expert correspondent, a kind friend, and an agreeable 
companion. His countenance presented a capacious fore¬ 
head, firm-set lips, and a penetrating eye. He celebrated 


236 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


the simple joys of rural life. He died at Teviothead on 
the 28th July 1870, at the age of seventy-two. 

During a Border sojourning I became acquainted with 
Andrew Leyden, a younger brother of Dr John Leyden the 
celebrated poet. He was on the border of fourscore, and 
was poor and unprovided for. He had been a shepherd,* 
and was latterly employed in work about a farm. I tried 
to befriend him, but whether my efforts were attended with 
any real benefit to him I could never discover. He was a 
well-informed man, much superior to the ordinary hind; 
and there was an air of gentility about him. He remembered 
his distinguished brother, but imperfectly so. To the poet 
a handsome monument has been raised on “ the green ” at 
Denholm, his native village. 

Connected by marriage with the Scottish Border was my 
late friend the Rev Thomas Gordon Torry Anderson, in¬ 
cumbent of St Paul’s Episcopal Church, Dundee. Mr 
Torry Anderson wrote good verses, and was an esteemed 
musical composer. I subjoin the “ Araby Maid” from his 
pen ; it is, I conceive, much too little known : 

“ Away on the wings of the wind she flies, 

Like a thing of life and light— 

And she bounds beneath the eastern skies, 

And the beauty of eastern night. 

“ Why so fast flies the bark through the ocean’s foam, 

Why wings it so speedy a flight ? 

’Tis an Araby maid who hath left her home, 

To fly with her Christian knight. 


LOWLAND MINSTRELS. 


237 


“ She hath left her sire and her native land, 

The land which from childhood she trode, 

And hath sworn, by the pledge of her beautiful hand, 

To worship the Christian’s God. 

‘ ‘ Then away, away, oh ! swift be thy flight, 

It were death one moment’s delay; 

For behind there is many a blade glancing bright— 

Then away—away—away ! 

“ They are safe in the land where love is divine, 

In the land of the free and the brave— 

They have knelt at the foot of the holy shrine. 

Nought can sever them now but the grave.” 

Mr Torry Anderson died in June 1856, in his fifty-first year. 
A kind, genial man, he exercised a generous hospitality. 

My late revered friend, Alexander Bald of Craigward 
Cottage, Alloa, rejoiced to extend his kindly countenance to 
the sons of genius and song. He visited the Ettrick Shep¬ 
herd when following his flocks, and was one of the first to 
acknowledge him as a poet. At Alloa he established a 
Shakespeare Club, which, under his auspices, was yearly 
attended by some poetical stars. To old age he continued 
his poetical ardour, constantly befriending the votaries of 
the muse. He died in October 1859, at the age of seventy- 
six. Alexander Bald was singularly benevolent; I cherish 
his memory with affection. His brother Robert, distin¬ 
guished as a mining engineer, was also possessed of many 
Christian excellences. 


238 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


The last to be named among Lowland Bards, is my late 
friend John Hunter LL.D., of Craigcrook Castle. This 
excellent man was son of Dr James Hunter, and grandson 
of Dr John Hunter, both of St Andrews. He was born in 
the manse of Dunino, in 1801; he studied at St Andrews and 
became a Writer to the Signet. In 1848 he was appointed 
Auditor of the Court of Session, a lucrative and honourable 
office, which he held till within a short period of his death. 
He died in December 1869. John Hunter added elegant 
accomplishments to rare natural gifts. Each Saturday 
afternoon, he received at Craigcrook, poets, artists, and 
men of genius, to whom he dispensed an abundant hospi¬ 
tality. On many themes he could have written effectively, 
but he never sought distinction as an author. He printed 
anonymously in 1843, a thin volume of poetical “Miscel¬ 
lanies.” From that little work I transcribe a specimen of his 
minstrelsy. Those who knew John Hunter, will not be 
displeased that the present chapter closes with some verses 
from his pen. 


“ Oh ! Mary, while thy gentle cheek 
Is on my breast reclining, 

And while these arms around thy form 
Are fondly thus entwining ; 

It seems as if no earthly power 
Our beating hearts could sever, 

And that in ecstasy of bliss 
We thus could hang for ever ! 


LOWLAND MLNSTRELS. 


239 


“ Yet ah ! too well, too well we know 
The fiat fate hath spoken— 

The spell that bound our souls in one, 

The world’s cold breath hath broken. 

The hours—the days—whose heavenly light 
Hath beam’d in beauty o’er us, 

When Love his sunshine shed around, 

And strew’d his flowers before us, 

“ Must now be but as golden dreams, 

Whose loveliness hath perish’d ; 

Wild dreams of hope, in human hearts 
Too heavenly to be cherish’d. 

Yet, oh ! where’er our lot is cast, 

The love that once hath bound us— 

The thought that looks to days long past, 
Will breathe a halo round us. ” 




HIGHLAND BARDS. 


■ HE suspicion which arose in regard to the authen- 
ticity of Ossian, as exhibited in the pages of 
Macpherson, has unjustly excited a misgiving 
respecting the entire poetry of the Gael. With reference to 
the elder poetry of the Highlands, it has been established* 
that at the period of the Reformation, the natives were 
engrossed with the lays and legends of Bards and Sea- 
nachies,t of which Ossian, Caoillt, and Cuchullin were 
the heroes. These romantic strains continued to be 
preserved and recited with singular veneration. They 
were familiar to hundreds in different districts who regarded 
them as relics of their ancestors, and would as soon have 
mingled the bones of their fathers with the dust of strangers? 


* Highland Society’s Report on “ Ossian,” pp. 16-20. 
t Genealogists or Antiquaries. 





















HIGHLAND BALDS. 


241 


as ventured on the alteration of a single passage. Many of 
the reciters of this elder poetry were writers of verses,* yet 
there is no instance of any attempt to alter or supersede the 
originals. Nor could any attempt have succeeded. There 
are specimens which exist, independent of those collected 
by Macpherson, which present a peculiarity of form, and a 
Homeric consistency of imagery, distinct from every other 
species of Gaelic poetry. 

Of an uncertain era, but of a date posterior to the age of 
Ossian, there is a class of compositions called Ur-sgett/a, f 
or new-tales , which may be termed the productions of the 
sub-Ossianic period. They are largely blended with stories 
of dragons and other fabulous monsters; the best of these 
compositions being romantic memorials of the Hiberno- 
Celtic, or Celtic-Scandinavian wars. The first translation 
from the Gaelic was a legend of the Ur-sgeula. The 
translator was Ierome Stone, X schoolmaster of Dunkeld, and 
the performance appeared in the Scots Magazine for 1700. 
The author had learned from the monks the story of 
Bellerophon, § along with that of Perseus and Andromeda, 
and from these materials fabricated a romance in which the 
hero is a mythical character, who is supposed to have given 

* Letter from Sir James Macdonald to Dr Blair. 

t M‘Callum’s “ Collection,” p. 207. See also Smith’s “ Sean Dana, 
or Gaelic Antiquities;” Gillies’ “Collection, ” and Clark’s “Cale¬ 
donian Bards.” 

X Highland Society’s Report on Ossian, pp. 99, 105, 112. 

§ Boswell’s “ Life of Johnson,” p. 320, Croker’s edition, 1847. 

Q 


242 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


name to Loch Fraoch, near Dunkeld. Belonging to the 
same era is the “ Aged Bard’s Wish,”* a composition of 
singular elegance and pathos, and remarkable for certain 
allusions to the age and imagery of Ossian. This has fre¬ 
quently been translated. Somewhat in the Ossianic style, 
but of the period of the Ur-sgeula are two popular pieces 
entitled Mordubh\ and Collath. Of these productions the 
imagery is peculiarly illustrative of the character and habits 
of the ancient Gael, while they are replete with incidents of 
the wars which the Albyn had waged with their enemies 
of Scandinavia. To the same period we are disposed to 
assign the “ Song of the Owl,” though it has been regarded 
by a respectable authority X as of modern origin. 

The. termination of the Sub-Ossianic period brings us to 
another epoch in the history of Gaelic poetry. The bard 
was now the chieftain’s retainer, at home a crofter and pen¬ 
sioner^ abroad a follower of the camp. We find him cheer¬ 
ing the rowers of the galley, with his birlinn chant, and 
stirring on the fight with his pi'osnuchadh catha , or battle- 
song. At the battle of Harlaw,^ a piece was sung which 
has escaped the wreck of that tremendous slaughter, and of 
contemporary poetry. It is undoubtedly genuine ; and the 

* “Poem’s by Mrs Grant of Laggan,” p. 395, Edinburgh, 1803, 8vo. 
The original is to be found in the Gaelic collections. 

+ Mrs Grant’s Poems, p. 371 ; Mackenzie’s “Gaelic Poets,” p. 1. 

X See Mrs Grant’s “ Highland Superstitions,” vol. ii. p. 249. The 
original is contained in Mackenzie’s “Gaelic Poets.” 

§ See Johnson’s “Journey to the Western Islands.” 

U Stewart’s Collection, p. 1. 


HIGHLAND BARDS. 


243 


critics of Gaelic verse are unanimous in ascribing to it every 
excellence which can belong either to alliterative art, or 
musical excitement. Of the battle-hymn some splendid 
specimens have been handed down ; and these are to be 
regarded with an amount of confidence, from the apparent 
ease with which the very long “ Incitement to Battle,” in 
the “ Garioch Battle-Storm,” as Harlaw is called, was re¬ 
membered. Collections of favourite pieces began to be 
made in writing at the revival of letters. The researches 
of the Highland Society brought to light a miscellany, 
embracing the poetical labours of two contemporaries of 
rank, Sir Duncan Campbell* of Glenurchay, and Lady 
Isabel Campbell. From this period the poet’s art de¬ 
generates into a sort of family chronicle. There were, 
however, incidents which deserved a more affecting style 
of memorial; and this appears in lays which still command 
the interest and draw forth the tears of the Highlander. 
The story of the persecuted Clan Gregor supplies many 
illustrations, such as the oft-chanted Macgregor na Rciura , | 
and the mournful melodies of Janet Campbell.^ In the 
footsteps of these exciting subjects of poetry, came the 
inspiring Montrose wars, which introduce to our acquain- 

* Report on Ossian, p. 92. Sir Duncan Campbell fell at the battle 
of Flodden ; Lady Campbell afterwards married Gilbert, Earl of Cas- 
sillis. 

t Mrs Grant’s “ Highland Superstitions,” vol. ii. p. 196. 

+ Mrs Ogilvie’s “ Highland Minstrelsy.” For the original, see 
Turner’s Collection, p. 186. 



2 44 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


tance the more modern class of bards; of these the most 
conspicuous is, Ian Lorn * or Manntach. This bard was a 
Macdonald; he hung on the skirts of armies, and at the 
close of the battle sung the triumph or the wail, on the side 
of his partisans, t To the presence of this person the clans 
are supposed to have been indebted for much of the 
enthusiasm which led them to glory in the wars of Mont¬ 
rose. His poetry only reaches mediocrity, but the success 
which attended it led the chiefs to seek similar support in 
the Jacobite wars; and very animated compositions were 
the result of their encouragement. Mathieson, the family 
bard of Seaforth, Macvuirich, the pensioner of Clanranald, 
and Hector the Lamiter, bard of Maclean, were pre-eminent 
in this department. The massacre of Glencoe suggested 
numerous elegies. There is one remarkable for pathos by 
a clansman who had emigrated to the Isle of Muck, from 
which circumstance he is styled “Am Bard Mucanach.” 

The knights of Duart and Sleat, the chiefs of Clanranald 

and Glengarry, the Lochaber seigniory of Lochiel, and the 

titled chivalry of Sutherland and Seaforth, J formed subjects 

of poetic eulogy. Sir Hector Maclean, Ailein Muideartach, 

and the lamented Sir James Macdonald obtained the same 

• 

* Reid’s “Bibliotheca Scotica Celtica.” Mackenzie’s “Gaelic 
Poets,” p. 36. 

+ Napier’s “Memoirs of Montrose.” In this work will be found a 
very spirited translation of Ian Lom’s poem on the battle of Innerlochy. 

+ Mackenzie’s “Gaelic Poets,” pp. 24, 59, 77, 77, 151; Turner’s 
“ Gaelic Collection, "passim. 


HIGHLAND BARDS. 


245 


tribute. The second of these Highland favourites could 
not make his manly countenance, or stalwart arm, visible 
in hall, barge, or battle/ 1 ' without exciting the enthusiastic 
strain of the enamoured muse of one sex, or of the admiring 
minstrel of the other. In this department of poetry, some 
of the best proficients were women. Of these Mary M‘Leod, 
the contemporary of Ian Lorn, is one of the most musical 
and elegant. Her chief The M‘Leod, was the grand theme 
of her inspiration. Dora Brownf sung a chant on the 
renowned Col-Kitto, as he went forth against the Camp¬ 
bells to revenge the death of his father; a composition 
conceived in a strain such as Helen Macgregor might have 
struck up to stimulate to some daring and vindictive enter¬ 
prise. 

Of the modern poetry of the Gael, Macpherson has 
expressed himself unfavourably; he regarded the modern 
Highlanders as incapable of estimating poetry otherwise 
than in the returning harmony of similar sounds. They 
were seduced, he remarks, by the charms of rhyme; and 
admired the strains of Ossian, not for the sublimity of the 
poetry, but on account of the antiquity of the compositions, 
and the heroic details which they contained. On this sub¬ 
ject a different opinion has been expressed by Sir Walter 
Scott. “ I cannot dismiss this story,” he writes, in his last 

* See the beautiful verses translated by the Marchioness of North¬ 
ampton from “Ha tighinn fodham,” in “ Albyn’s Anthology,” or 
Croker’s “ Boswell.” 

4 Mackenzie’s “Gaelic Poets,” p. 56. 






246 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


introduction to his tale of the “Two Drovers,” “without 
resting attention for a moment on the light which has been 
thrown on the character of the Highland Drover, since the 
time of its first appearance, by the account of a drover poet, 
by name Robert Mackay, or, as he was commonly called, 
Rob Donn, i.e., Brown Robert; and certain specimens of 
his talents, published in the ninetieth number of the 
Quarterly Review. The picture which that paper gives of 
the habits and feelings of a class of persons with which the 
general reader would be apt to associate no ideas but those 
of wild superstition and rude manners, is in the highest 
degree interesting; and I cannot resist the temptation of 
quoting two of the songs of this hitherto unheard-of poet of 

humble life.Rude and bald as these things 

appear in a verbal translation, and rough as they might 
possibly appear, even were the originals intelligible, we 
confess we are disposed to think they would of themselves 
justify Dr Mackay (editor of Mackay’s Poems) in placing 
this herdsman-lover among the true sons of song.” 

Of that department of the Gaelic Minstrelsy admired by 
Scott and condemned by Macpherson, we shall present 
some specimens. These specimens, it must however be 
remembered, not only labour under the ordinary dis¬ 
advantages of translations, but are rendered from a 
language which, in its poetry, is one of the least trans- 
fusible in the world. Some of the compositions are 
Jacobite, and are in the usual strain of such productions, 


HIGHLAND BANDS. 


247 


but the majority sing of the rivalries of clans, the emulation 
of bards, the jealousies of lovers, and the honour of chiefs. 
They likewise abound in pictures of pastoral imagery; are 
redolent of the heath and the wildflower, and depict the 
beauties of the deer forest. 

The various kinds of Highland minstrelsy admit of 
simple classification. The Duan Mor is the epic song; its 
subdivisions are termed duana or dua?iciga. Strings of verse 
and incidents (‘Pa-J/wcha) were intended to form an epic 
history, and were combined by successive bards for that 
purpose. The battle-song (Prosnuchadh-cathd) was next in 
importance. The model of this variety is not to be found 
in any of the Alcaic or Tyrtoean remains. It was a 
dithyrambic of the wildest and most passionate enthusiasm, 
inciting to carnage and fury. Chanted in the hearing of 
assembled armies, and sometimes sung before the van, it 
was intended as an incitement to battle, and even calculated 
to stimulate the courage of the general. The war-song of 
the Harlaw has been noticed; it is a rugged tissue of 
alliteration, every letter having a separate division in the 
remarkable string of adjectives which are connected to 
introduce a short exordium and grand finale. The Jorram, 
or boat-song, some specimens of which attracted the atten¬ 
tion of Dr Johnson,* was a variety of the same class. In 
this, every measure was used which could be made to time 
with an oar, or to mimic a wave, either in motion or sound. 


* Johnson’s Works, vol. xii. p. 291. 


248 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


Dr Johnson discovered in it the proceleusmatic song of the 
ancients; it certainly corresponds in real usage with the 
poet’s description: 

“ Stat margine puppis, 

Qui voce alternos nautarum temperet ictus, 

Et remis dictet sonitum pariterque relatis, 

Ad numerum plaudet resonantia coerula tonsis.” 

Alexander Macdonald excels in this description of verse. 
In a piece called Clanranald’s Birlinn , he has summoned 
his utmost efforts in timing the circumstances of a voyage 
with suitable metres and descriptions. A happy imitation 
of the boat-song has been rendered familiar to the English 
reader by Sir Walter Scott, in the “ Roderigh Vich Alpine 
Dhu, ho ! ieroe,” of the “ Lady of the Lake.” The Luineag , 
or favourite carol of the Highland milkmaid, is a class of 
songs entirely lyrical, and which seldom fails to please the 
taste of the Lowlander. Burns* and other song-writers 
have adopted the strain of the Luineag to adorn their verses. 
The Cumha , or lament, is the vehicle of the most pathetic 
and meritorious effusions of Gaelic poetry; it is abundantly 
interspersed with the poetry of Ossian. 

Among the Gael, blank verse is unknown; for rhyme they 
entertain a passion, t They rhyme to the same set of sounds 
or accents for a space of which the recitation is tedious. 
Not satisfied with the final rhyme, their favourite measures 

* Poems, Chambers’s People’s Edition, p. 134. 

+ Armstrong’s “Gaelic Dictionary,” p. 63. 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


249 


are those in which the middle syllable corresponds with the 
last, and the same syllable in the second line with both ; 
and occasionally the final sound of the second line is 
expected to return in every alternate verse through the 
whole poem. The Gael appear to have been early in 
possession of these coincidences of termination which were 
unknown to the classical poets, or were regarded by them 
as defects.* All writers on Celtic versification, including 
the Irish, Welsh, Manx, and Cornish varieties, are united as 
to the early use of rhyme by the Celtic poets, and agree in 
assigning the primary model to the incantations of the 
Druids, f The lyrical measures of the Gael are various, but 
the scansion is regular, and there is no description of verse 
familiar to English usage, from the Iambic of four syllables, 
to the slow-paced Anapaestic, or the prolonged Alexandrine, 
which is not exactly measured by these sons and daughters 
of song. J Every poetical composition in the language, 
however lengthy, is intended to be sung or chanted. Gaelic 
music is regulated by no positive rules; it varies from the 
wild chant of the battle-song to the simple melody of the 
milkmaid. 

Of the modern Gaelic bards, the first claiming notice is 
Robert Mackay (Rob Donn). He was born in the Strath¬ 
more of Sutherlandshire, about 1714. His calling, with the 

* Edinburgh Review on Mitford’s “ Harmony of Language,” vol. vi. 
P* 383 - 

t Brown’s “ History of the Highlands,” vol. i. p. 89 

4 Armstrong’s “Gaelic Dictionary,” p. 64. 


250 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


interval of a brief military service in the fencibles, was the 
tending of cattle, in the several gradations of herd, drover, 
and bo-man, or cow-keeper. At one period he had an 
appointment in Lord Reay’s forest; but some deviations 
into the “ righteous theft ”—so the Highlanders of those 
parts, it seems, call the appropriation of an occasional deer 
to their own use—forfeited his employer’s confidence. Rob, 
however, does not appear to have suffered in his reputation 
for an uncotisidered trifle like this, nor otherwise to have 
declined in the favour of his chief, beyond the necessity of 
transporting himself to a situation somewhat nearer Cape 
Wrath than the bosom of a deer preserve. 

Mackay was happily married, and brought up a large 
family in habits and sentiments of piety—a fact which his 
reverend biographer connects very touchingly with the 
stated solemnities of the “ Saturday night,” when the lighter 
chants of the week were exchanged at the worthy drover’s 
fireside for the purer. and holier melodies of another in¬ 
spiration.* He died in 1778 ; and he succeeded to some 
peculiar honours for a person in his position ; he had a 
reverend doctor for his editorial biographer,t and Sir Walter 
Scott for his reviewer.^ 

The passages which Sir Walter has culled from some 
literal translations that were submitted to him, are favour- 

* Songs and Poems of Robert Mackay, p. 38. Inverness, 1829. 8vo. 

f The Rev. Dr Mackintosh Mackay, successively minister of Laggan 
and Dunoon. 

t Quarterly Review^ vol. xlv., April 1831. 


HIGHLAND DADDS. 


25 1 


able specimens of the bard. The rest are satiric rants, too 
rough or too local for transfusion, or panegyrics on the 
living and the dead, in the usual extravagant style of such 
compositions ; or they are love-lays, of which the language 
is more copious and diversified than the sentiment. “ The 
Song of Winter” is selected as a specimen of Mackay’s 
descriptive poetry. It is in a style peculiar to the High¬ 
lands, where description runs so entirely into epithets and 
adjectives, as to render recitation breathless, and translation 
hopeless. Here, while we have retained the imagery, we 
have been unable to find rhyme for one-half the epithets. 

“At waking so early 

Was snow on the Ben, 

And, the glen of the hill in, 

The storm-drift so chilling, 

The linnet was stilling, 

That couch’d in its den ; 

And poor robin was shrilling 
In sorrow his strain. 


“ Every grove was expecting 
Its leaf shed in gloom ; 
The sap it is draining, 

Down rootwards ’tis straining, 
And the bark it is waning 
As dry as the tomb, 

And the blackbird at morning 
Is shrieking his doom. 


252 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


“ Ceases thriving, the knotted, 

The stunted birk-shaw ; * 

While the rough wind is blowing, 

And the drift of the snowing 
Is shaking, o’erthrowlng, 

The copse on the law. 

“ ’Tis the season when nature 
Is all in the sere, 

When her snow-showers are hailing, 

Her rain-sleet assailing, 

Her mountain winds wailing, 

Her rime-frosts severe. 

“ ’Tis the season of leanness, 

Unkindness, and chill; 

Its whistle is ringing, 

An iciness bringing, 

Where the brown leaves are clinging 
In helplessness, still, 

And the snow-rush is delving 
With furrows the hill. 

“ The sun is in hiding 
Or frozen its beam 
On the peaks where he lingers, 

On the glens, where the singers, + 

With their bills and small fingers 
Are raking the stream, 

Or picking the midstead 

For forage—and scream. 

* “Birk-shaw.” A few Scotticisms will be found in these versions, at once to 
flavour the style, and, it must be admitted, to assist the rhymes, 
t Birds. 


HIGHLAND BARDS. 


253 


“ When darkens the gloaming, 

Oh, scant is their cheer ! 

All benumb’d is their song in 
The hedge they are thronging, 

And for shelter still longing, 

The mortar * they tear ; 

Ever noisily, noisily 

Squealing their care. 

“ The running stream’s chieftain f 
Is trailing to land, 

So flabby, so grimy, 

So sickly, so slimy,— 

The spots of his prime he 
Has rusted with sand ; 

Crook-snouted his crest is 
That taper’d so grand. 

How mournful in winter 
The lowing of kine ; 

How lean-back’d they shiver, 

How draggled their cover, 

How their nostrils run over 
With drippings of brine, 

So scraggy and crining 

In the cold frost they pine. 

“ ’Tis Hallowmas time, and 
To mildness farewell! 

Its bristles are low’ring 
With darkness ; o’erpowering 

* The sides of the cottages—plastered with mud or mortar, instead of lime, 
t Salmon. 


254 


HIGHLAND DADDS. 


Are its waters aye showering 
With onset so fell; 

Seem the kid and the yearling 
As rung their death-knell. 

“ Every out-lying creature, 

How sinew’d soe’er, 

Seeks the refuge of shelter ; 

The race of the antler 
They snort and they falter, 

A-cold in their lair ; 

And the fawns they are wasting 
Since their kin is afar. 

“ Such the songs that are saddest 
And dreariest of all; 

I ever am eerie 

In the morning to cheer ye ! 

When foddering, to cheer the 
Poor herd in the stall— 

While each creature is moaning, 

And sickening in thrall.” 

The following is a translation of “ Mackay’s Highlander 
Home Sickness,” by the late Mr William Sinclair: 

“ Easy is my pillow press’d, 

But, oh ! I cannot, cannot rest; 

Northwards do the shrill winds blow— 

Thither do my musings go ! 

“ Better far with thee in groves, 

Where the young deers sportive roam, 


HIGHLAND BARDS. 


2 55 


Than where, counting cattle droves, 

I must sickly sigh for home. 

Great the love I bear for her 

Where the north winds wander free, 
Sportive, kindly is her air, 

Pride and folly none hath she ! 

“ Were I hiding from my foes, 

Ay, though fifty men were near, 

I should find concealment close 
In the shieling of my dear. 

Beauty’s daughter ! oh, to see 
Days when homewards I’ll repair— 
Joyful time to thee and me— 

Fair girl with the waving hair ! 

“ Glorious all for hunting then, 

The rocky ridge, the hill, the fern ; 
Sweet to drag the deer that’s slain 
Downwards by the piper’s cairn ! 

By the west field ’twas I told 

My love, with parting on my tongue ; 
Long she’ll linger in that fold, 

With the kine assembled long ! 

“ Dear to me the woods I know, 

Far from Crieff my musings are ; 

Still with sheep my memories go, 

On our heath of knolls afar : 

Oh, for red-streak’d rocks so lone ! 

Where, in spring, the young fawns leap, 
And the crags where winds have blown— 
Cheaply I should find my sleep.” 


256 


HIGHLAND BARDS. 


Dougal Buchanan was bom at the Mill of Ardoch, in 
the valley of Strathyre, and parish of Balquhidder, in 1716. 
His parents were in circumstances to allow him the educa¬ 
tion of the parish school; on which, by private application, 
he so far improved, as to be qualified to act as teacher 
and catechist to the Highland locality which borders on 
Loch Rannoch. Never, it is believed, were the duties of 
a calling discharged with more efficiency. The catechist 
was, both in and out of the strict department of his office, 
a universal oracle,* and his name is revered in the scene 
of his usefulness in a degree to which the honours of 
canonisation could scarcely have added. Pious, to the 
height of a proverbial model, he was withal frank, cheerful, 
and social; and from his extraordinary command of the 
Gaelic idiom, and its poetic phraseology, he must have lent 
an ear to many a song and many a legend f—a nourish¬ 
ment of the imagination in which, as well as in purity of 
Gaelic, his native Balquhidder was immeasurably inferior to 
the Rannoch district of his adoption. 

The composition of hymns, embracing a musical para¬ 
phrase of many of the more striking inspirations of scrip¬ 
tural poetry, seems to have been the employment of his 
leisure hours. These are sung or recited in every cottage 

* “Satistical Account of Fortingall.”—Statistical Account, x., p. 
549 - 

+ The same account observes, that though none of his works are pub¬ 
lished but his sacred compositions, he composed “several songs on 
various subjects.” 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


257 


of the Highlands where a reader or a retentive memory is 
to be found. 

Buchanan’s life was short. He was cut off by typhus 
fever in the summer of 1768. We know of no fact relating 
to the development of his poetic strain, unless it be found 
in the circumstance to which he refers in his “ Diary,” * of 
having been bred a violent Jacobite, and having lived many 
years under the excitement of vindictive feelings, at the fate 
of his chief (Buchanan of Arnprior), who, with some of the 
poet’s relations, suffered death for their share in the last 
rebellion. While he relates that the power of religion at 
length quenched the effervescence of his emotions, it may 
be supposed that ardent Jacobitism, with its common ac¬ 
companiment of melody, may have fostered an imagination 
which every circumstance proves to have been sufficiently 
susceptible. 

The poetic remains of Dougal Buchanan do not afford 
extensive materials for translation. The subjects with 
which he deals are solemn, and their treatment is sur¬ 
charged with Scriptural imagery. 

We present some portions of his poem on “ The Skull: ” 

“ As I sat by the grave, at the brink of its cave, 

Lo ! a featureless skull on the ground ; 

The symbol I clasp, and detain in my grasp, 

While I turn it around and around. 

Without beauty or grace, or a glance to express 
Of the bystander nigh, a thought; 

* Published at Glasgow, 1836. 

R 


258 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


Its jaw and its mouth are tenantless both, 

Nor passes emotion its throat. 

No glow on its face, no ringlets to grace 
Its brow, and no ear for my song ; 

Hush’d the caves of its breath, and the finger of death 
The raised features hath flatten’d along. 

The eyes’ wonted beam, and the eyelids’ quick gleam— 
The intelligent sight, are no more ; 

But the worms of the soil, as they wriggle and coil, 
Come hither their dwellings to bore. 

No lineament here is left to declare 
If monarch or chief art thou ; 

Alexander the Brave, as the portionless slave 
That on dunghill expires, is as low. 

Thou delver of death, in my ear let thy breath 
Who tenants my hand, unfold ; 

That my voice may not die without a reply, 

Though the ear it addresses is cold. 

Say, wert thou a May,* of beauty a ray, 

And flatter’d thine eye with a smile ? 

Thy meshes didst set, like the links of a net, 

The hearts of the youth to wile ? 

Alas, every charm that a bosom could warm 
Is changed to the grain of disgust ! 

Oh, fie on the spoiler for daring to soil her 
Gracefulness all in the dust ! 

Say, wise in the law, did the people with awe 
Acknowledge thy rule o’er them— 

A magistrate true, to all dealing their due, 

And just to redress or condemn ? 


* Maiden or virgin— orig. 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 2 

Or was righteousness sold for handfuls of gold 
In the scales of thy partial decree ; 

While the poor were unheard when their suit they preferr’d, 
And appeal’d their distresses to thee ? 

Say, once in thine hour, was thy medicine of power 
To extinguish the fever of ail ? 

And seem’d, as the pride of the leech-craft e’en tried 
O’er omnipotent death to prevail ? 

Alas, that thine aid should have ever betray’d 
Thy hope when the need was thine own ; 

What salve or annealing sufficed for thy healing 
When the hours of thy portion were flown ? 

Or—wert thou a hero, a leader to glory, 

While armies thy truncheon obey’d ? 

To victory cheering, as thy foemen careering 
In flight, left their mountains of dead ? 

Was thy valiancy laid, or unhilted thy blade, 

When came onwards in battle array 

The sepulchre-swarms, ensheath’d in their arms, 

To sack and to rifle their prey ? 

How they joy in their spoil, as thy body the while 
Besieging, the reptile is vain, 

And her beetle-mate blind hums his gladness to find 
His defence in the lodge of thy brain ! 

Some dig where the sheen of the ivory has been, 

Some, the organ where music repair’d ; 

In rabble and rout they come in and come out 
At the gashes their fangs have bared. 

* * * * * 

Do I hold in my hand a whole lordship of land, 

Represented by nakedness, here ? 


260 


HIGHLAND BAUDS. 


Perhaps not unkind to the helpless thy mind, 

Nor all unimparted by gear; 

Perhaps stem of brow to thy tenantry thou ! 

To leanness their countenances grew— 

’Gainst their crave for respite, when thy clamour for right 
Required, to a moment, its due ; 

While the frown of thy pride to the aged denied 
To cover their head from the chill, 

And humbly they stand, with their bonnet in hand, 

As cold blows the blast of the hill. 

Thy serfs may look on, unheeding thy frown, 

Thy rents and thy mailings unpaid ; 

All praise to the stroke their bondage that broke ! 

While but claims their obeisance the dead. 
***** 

Or a head do I clutch, whose devices were such, 

That death must have lent them his sting— 

So daring they were, so reckless of fear, 

As heaven had wanted a king ? 

Did the tongue of the lie, while it couch’d like a spy 
In the haunt of thy venomous jaws, 

Its slander display, as poisons its prey 
The devilish snake in the grass ? 

That member unchain’d, by strong bands is restrain’d, 
The inflexible shackles of death ; 

And, its emblem, the trail of the worm, shall prevail 
Where its slaver once harbour’d beneath. 

And oh ! if thy scorn went down to thine urn, 

And expired with impenitent groan ; 

To repose where thou art is of peace all thy part, 

And then to appear—at the Throne ! 


HIGHLAND BARDS. 


’261 


Like a frog, from the lake that leapeth, to take 
To the Judge of thy actions the way, 

And to hear from His lips, amid nature’s eclipse, 

Thy sentence of termless dismay. 

***** 

The hardness of iron thy bones shall environ, 

To brass-links the veins of thy frame 
Shall stiffen, and the glow of thy manhood shall grow 
Like the anvil that melts not in flame ! 

But wert thou the mould of a champion bold 
For God and His truth and His law ? 

Oh, then, though the fence of each limb and each sense 
Is broken—each gem with a flaw— 

Be comforted thou ! For rising in air 
Thy flight shall the clarion obey ; 

And the shell of thy dust thou shalt leave to be crush’d, 

If they will, by the creatures of prey.” 

Duncan Macintyre (Donacha Ban) is regarded by his 
countrymen as the most extraordinary genius that the High¬ 
lands in modern times have produced. Without having 
learned a letter of any alphabet, he was enabled to pour 
forth melodies that charmed every ear to which they were 
intelligible. He was born in Druimliart of Glenorchy, on 
the 20th of March 1724, and died in October 1812. He 
was chiefly employed in the capacity of keeper in several 
of the Earl of Breadalbane’s forests. He carried a musket 
in his lordship’s fencibles; which led him to take part, 
much against his inclination, in the Whig ranks at the battle 


HIGHLAND DADDS. 


262 


of Falkirk. Later in life he transferred his musket to the 
Edinburgh City Guard. 

Macintyre’s best compositions are those descriptive of 
forest scenes. His chief poem is “ Bendourain ” the Otter 
Mount. From the extraordinary diffusiveness of his descrip¬ 
tions, and the boundless luxuriance of his expressions, much 
difficulty has been experienced in translation. 

URLAR. 

“ The noble Otter hill ! 

It is a chieftain Beinn,* 

Ever the fairest still 

Of all these eyes have seen. 

Spacious is his side ; 

I love to range where hide, 

In haunts by few espied, 

The nurslings of his den. 

In the bosky shade 
Of the velvet glade, 

Couch in softness laid, 

The nimble-footed deer; 

To see the spotted pack, 

That in scenting never slack, 

Coursing on their track, 

Is the prime of cheer. 

Merry may the stag be, 

The lad that so fairly 
Flourishes the russet coat 
That fits him so rarely. 

’Tis a mantle whose wear 


* Anglicised into Ben. 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


263 


Time shall not tear; 

’Tis a banner that ne’er 
Sees its colours depart: 

And when they seek his doom, 
Let a man of action come, 

A hunter in his bloom, 

With rifle not untried: 

A notch’d, firm fasten’d flint, 

To strike a trusty dint, 

And make the gun-lock glint 
With a flash of pride. 

Let the barrel be but true, 

And the stock be trusty too, 

So, Lightfoot,* though he flew, 
Shall be purple-dyed. 

He should not be novice bred, 
But a marksman of first head, 
By whom that stag is sped, 

In hill-craft not unskill’d; 

So, when Padraig of the glen 
Call’d his hounds and men, 

The hill spake back again, 

As his orders shrill’d; 

Then was firing snell, 

And the bullets rain’d like hail, 
And the red-deer fell 

Like warrior on the field. 

SIUBHAL. 

Oh, the young doe so frisky, 

So coy, and so fair, 

* The deer, 


264 


HIGHLAND BARDS. 


That gambols so briskly, 

And snuffs up the air ; 

And hurries, retiring, 

To the rocks that environ, 

When foemen are firing, 

And bullets are there. 

Though swift in her racing, 

Like the kinsfolk before her, 

No heart-burst, unbracing 
Her strength, rushes o’er her. 

’Tis exquisite hearing 
Her murmur, as, nearing, 

Her mate comes careering, 

Her pride, and her lover;— 

He comes—and her breathing 
Her rapture is telling ; 

How his antlers are wreathing, 

His white haunch, how swelling ! 
High chief of Bendourain, 

He seems, as adoring 
His hind, he comes roaring 
To visit her dwelling. 

Twere endless my singing 
How the mountain is teeming 
With thousands, that bringing 

Each a high chief’s* proud seeming, 
With his hind, and her gala 
Of younglings, that follow 
O’er mountain and beala,+ 

All lightsome are beaming. 


* Stag of the first head. 


t Pass. 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


2G5 


When that lightfoot so airy, 

Her race is pursuing, 

Oh, what vision saw e’er a 
Feat of flight like her doing? 

She springs, and the spreading grass 
Scarce feels her treading, 

It were fleet foot that sped in 
Twice the time that she flew in. 

The gallant array ! 

How the marshes they spurn, 

In the frisk of their play, 

And the wheelings they turn,— 

As the cloud of the mind 
They would distance behind, 

And give years to the wind, 

In the pride of their scorn ! 

’Tis the marrow of health 
In the forest to lie, 

Where, nooking in stealth, 

They enjoy her* supply,— 

Her fosterage breeding 
A race never needing, 

Save the milk of her feeding, 

From a breast never dry. 

Her hill-grass they suckle, 

Her mammets + they swill, 

And in wantonness chuckle 
O’er tempest and chill; 

* Any one who has heard a native attempt the Lowland tongue for the first time, is 
familiar with the personification that turns every inanimate object into he or she. 
The forest is here happily personified as a nurse or mother, 
t Bog-holes. 


266 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


With their ankles so light, 

And their girdles* of white, 

And their bodies so bright 
With the drink of the rill. 
Through the grassy glen sporting 
In murmurless glee, 

Nor snow-drift nor fortune 
Shall urge them to flee, 

Save to seek their repose 
In the clefts of the knowes, 

And the depths of the howes 
Of their own Eas-an-ti.”t 

URLAR. 

“ In the forest den, the deer 
Makes, as best befits, her lair, 
Where is plenty, and to spare, 

Of her grassy feast. 

There she browses free 
On herbage of the lea, 

Or marsh grass, daintily, 

Until her haunch is greased. 
Her drink is of the well, 

Where the water-cresses swell, 
Nor with the flowing shell 
Is the toper better pleased. 
The bent makes nobler cheer, 

Or the rashes of the mere, 

Than all the creagh that e’er 
Gave surfeit to a guest. 


* Stiipings. 


t Gaelic —Easan-an-tsith. 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


267 


Come, see her table spread ; 

The sorack* sweet display’d 
The ealvi\ and the head 
Of the daisy stem ; 

4 

The dorachX crested, sleek, 

And ringed with many a streak, 
Presents her pastures meek, 

Profusely by the stream. 

Such the luxuries 

That plump their noble size, 

And the herd entice 
To revel in the howes. 

Nobler haunches never sat on 
Pride of grease, than when they batten 
On the forest links, and fatten 
On the herbs of their carouse. 

Oh, ’tis pleasant, in the gloaming, 
When the supper-time 
Calls all their hosts from roaming, 

To see their social prime ; 

And when the shadows gather, 

They lair on native heather, 

Nor shelter from the weather 
Need, but the knolls behind. 

Dread or dark is none ; 

Theirs the mountain throne, 

Height and slope their own, 

The gentle mountain kind ; 

Pleasant is the grace 

Of their hue, and dappled dress, 


4 Primrose. 


t St John’s wort. 


t A kind of cress, or marshmallow. 


268 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


And an ark in their distress, 

In Bendourain dear they find. 

SIUBHAL. 

“ So brilliant thy hue 

With tendril and flow’ret, 

The grace of the view, 

What land can o’erpower it ? 
Thou mountain of beauty, 
Methinks it might suit thee, 

The homage of duty 
To claim as a queen. 

What needs it ? Adoring 
Thy reign, we see pouring 
The wealth of their store in 
Already, I ween. 

The seasons—scarce roll’d once, 
Their gifts are twice told— 

And the months, they unfold 
On thy bosom their dower, 
With profusion so rare, 

Ne’er was clothing so fair, 

Nor was jewelling e’er 

Like the bud and the flower 
Of the groves on thy breast, 
Where rejoices to rest 
His magnificent crest, 

The mountain-cock, shrilling 
In quick time, his note ; 

And the clans of the grot 
With melody’s note, 

Their numbers are trilling. 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


269 


No foot can compare 

In the dance of the green, 
With the roebuck’s young heir ; 

And here he is seen 
With his deftness of speed, 

And his sureness of tread, 

And his bend of the head, 

And his freedom of spring ! 
Over corrie careers he, 

The wood-cover clears he, 

And merrily steers he 

With bound, and with fling,— 
As he spurns from his stern 
The heather and fern, 

And dives in the dern* 

Of the wilderness deep ; 

Or, anon, with a strain, 

And a twang of each vein 
He revels amain 

’Mid the cliffs of the steep. 
With the burst of a start 
When the flame of his heart 
Impels to depart, 

How he distances all ! 

Two bounds at a leap, 

The brown hillocks to sweep, 
His appointment to keep 
With the doe, at her call. 
With her following, the roe 
From the danger of ken 


* A nglice —dark. 


270 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


Couches inly, and low, 

In the haunts of the glen ; 

Ever watchful to hear, 

Ever active to peer, 

Ever deft to career,— 

All ear, vision, and limb. 

And though Cult* and Cuchullin, 
With their horses and following, 
Should rush to her dwelling, 

And our prince + in his trim, 
They might vainly aspire 
Without rifle and fire 
To ruffle or nigh her, 

Her mantle to dim. 
Stark-footed, lively, 

Ever capering naively 
With motion alive, aye, 

And wax-white, in shine, 

When her startle betrays 
That the hounds are in chase, 

The same as the base 
Is the rocky decline— 

She puffs from her chest, 

And she ambles her crest 
And disdain is express’d 
In her nostril and eye ;— 

That eye—how it winks ! 

Like a sunbeam it blinks, 


* Gaelic —Caoillt; who, with Cuchullin, makes a figure in traditional Gaelic 
poetry. 

t Gaelic —King George. 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


And it glows, and it sinks, 

And is jealous and shy ! 

A mountaineer lynx, 

Like her race that’s gone by. 

* * * * 

CRUNLUATH (FINALE). 

Her lodge is in the valley—here 
No huntsman, void of notion, 

Should hurry on the fallow deer, 

But steal on her with caution ;— 
With wary step and watchfulness 
To stalk her to her resting place, 
Insures the gallant wight’s success, 
Before she is in motion. 

The hunter bold should follow then, 

By bog, and rock, and hollow, then, 
And nestle in the gully, then, 

And watch with deep devotion 
The shadows on the benty grass, 

And how they came, and how they pass 
Nor must he stir, with gesture rash, 

To quicken her emotion. 

With nerve and eye so wary, sir, 

That straight his piece may carry, sir, 
He marks with care the quarry, sir, 

The muzzle to repose on ; 

And now, the knuckle is applied, 

The flint is struck, the priming tried, 

Is fired, the volley has replied, 

And reeks in high commotion ;— 


272 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


Was better powder ne’er to flint, 

Nor trustier wadding of the lint— 

And so we strike a telling dint, 

Well done, my own Nic-Coisean !* 

John Macodrum the bard of Uist, was patronised by an 
eminent judge of merit, Sir James Macdonald of Skye,—of 
whom, after a distinguished career at Oxford, such expecta¬ 
tions were formed, that on his premature death at Rome 
he was lamented as the Marcellus of Scotland. 

Macodrum’s name is cited in the Ossianic controversy, 
upon Sir James’s report, as a person whose mind was stored 
with Fingalian poetry. He lived to lament his patron in 
elegiac strains—a fact that brings the time in which he 
flourished down to 1766. His poem entitled the “Song of 
Age,” is admired by his countrymen for its rapid succession 
of images, its descriptive power, and its flow of versification. 

“ Should my numbers essay to enliven a lay, 

The notes would betray the langour of woe ; 

My heart is o’erthrown like the rush of the stone 
That, unfix’d from its throne, seeks the valley below. 

The veteran of war, that knows not to spare, 

And offers us ne’er the respite of peace, 

Resistless comes on, and we yield with a groan, 

For under the sun is no hope of release. 

’Tis a sadness I ween, how the glow and the sheen 
Of the rosiest mien from their glory subside ; 

* Literally—“ From the barrel of Nic-Coisean.” This was the poet’s favourite 
gun, to which his muse has addressed a separate song of considerable merit. 






HIGHLAND BARDS. 


273 


How hurries the hour on our race, that shall lower 
The arm of our power, and the step of our pride. 

As scatter and fail, on the wing of the gale, 

The mist of the vale, and the cloud of the sky, 

So, dissolving our bliss, comes the hour of distress, 

Old age, with that face of aversion to joy. 

Oh ! heavy of head, and silent as lead, 

And unbreath’d as the dead, is the person of Age ; 

Not a joint, not a nerve—so prostrate their verve— 

In the contest shall serve, or the feat to engage. 

To leap with the best, or the billow to breast, 

Or the race-prize to wrest, were but effort in vain ; 

On the message of death pours an Egypt of wrath,* 
The fever’s hot breath, the dart-shot of pain. 

Ah, desolate eld ! the wretch that is held 

By thy grapple, must yield thee his dearest supplies ; 

The friends of our love at thy call must remove,— 
What boots how they strove from thy bands to arise ? 

They leave us, deplore as it wills us,—our store, 

Our strength at the core, and our vigour of mind ; 

Remembrance forsakes us, distraction o’ertakes us, 
Every love that awakes us, we leave it behind. 

Thou spoiler of grace, that changest the face 
To hasten its race on the route to the tomb, 

To whom nothing is dear, unaffection’d the ear, 
Emotion is sere, and expression is dumb ; 

Of spirit how void, thy passions how cloy’d, 

Thy pith how destroy’d, and thy pleasure how gone ! 

To the pang of thy cries not an echo replies, 

Even sympathy dies—and thy helper is none. 

* Alluding to the plagues. 

S 


4 


274 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


We see thee how stripp’d of each bloom that equipp’d 
Thy flourish till nipp’d the winter thy rose ; 

Till the spoiler made bare the scalp of the hair, 

And the ivory* tare from its sockets’ repose. 

Thy skinny, thy cold, thy visageless mould, 

Its disgust is untold, and its surface is dim ; 

What a signal of wrack is the wrinkle’s dull track, 

And the bend of the back, and the limp of the limb ! 

Thou leper of fear—thou niggard of cheer— 

Where glory is dear, shall thy welcome be found ? 

Thou contempt of the brave—oh, rather the grave, 
Than to pine as the slave that thy fetters have bound. 

Like the dusk of the day is thy colour of grey, 

Thou foe of the lay, and thou phantom of gloom ; 

Thou bane of delight—when thy shivering plight, 

And thy grizzle of white, and thy crippleness, come 

To beg at the door ; ah, woe for the poor, 

And the greeting unsure that grudges their bread ; 

All unwelcome they call—from the hut to the hall 
The confession of all is ‘ ’ Tis tune he were dead! ’ ” 



Norman Macleod (Tormaid Ban) composed the clan 
song of the Mackenzies. He was a farmer of the better 
class, a native of Assyntf in Sutherland. His son was 
a Glasgow professorand another son was minister of 
Rogart at the end of last century. The date of “ Caberfae ” 
is not exactly ascertained. It was composed during the 
exile of Lord Seaforth, but before the ’45, while Macshimei 

* The teeth. 

t In Statistical Account said to be of Lochbroom, vol. xiv., p. 79. 

£ Hugh Macleod. 




HIGHLAND BALDS. 


27 5 


(Lord Lovat) still passed for a Whig. The Seaforth tenantry, 
who (after the manner of the clans) privately supported 
their chief in his exile, appear to have been much aggrieved 
by some proceedings of the loyalist, Monro of Fowlis, who, 
along with his neighbours of Culloden and Lovat, were 
probably acting under government commission, in which 
the interests of the crown were seconded by personal or 
family antagonism. The loyal family of Sutherland, who 
seem by grant or lease to have had an interest in the estates, 
also come in for a share of resentment. 

All this forms the subject of “ Caberfae,” which, without 
having much meaning or poetry, served, like “ Lillibulero.” 
to animate armies, and inflame party spirit. The repetition 
of “ the Staghead, when rises his cabar on,” which concludes 
every strophe, is enough at any time to bring a Mackenzie 
to his feet, or into the forefront of battle—being an allusion 
to the Mackenzie crest, allegorised into an emblem of the 
stag at bay, or ready in his ire to push at his assailant. The 
cabar is the horn, or rather, the “tine of the first-head,” 
—no ignoble emblem, certainly, of clannish impetuosity. 
The difficulty of the measure compels certain metrical free¬ 
doms, and the use of some Gaelic words. 

CABERFAE. 

THE STAGHEAD.* 

“ A health to Caberfae, 

A toast, and a cheery one, 


* Applicable both to the chief and his crest. 


27 6 


HIGHLAND BARDS . 


That soon return he may, 

Though long and far his tarrying. 

The death of shame befal me, 

Be riven off my eididh * too, 

But my fancy hears thy call—we 
Should all be up and ready , 0 ! 

J Tis I have seen thy weapon keen, 

Thine arm, inaction scorning, 

Assign their dues to the Munroes, 

Their welcome in the morning. 

Nor stood the Catach t to his bratacht 
For dread of a belabouring, 

When up gets the Staghead, 

And raises his cabar on. 

“ Woe to the man of Folais,§ 

When he to fight must challenge thee ; 

Nor better fared the Roses || 

That lent Monro their valiancy. 

The GranndachU and the Frazer,**' 

They tarried not the melee in ; 

Fled Forbes,+t in dismay, sir, 

Culloden-wards, undallying. 

Away they ran, while firm remain, 

Not one to three, retiring so, 

The earl,J^ the craven, took to haven, 

Scarce a pistol firing, O ! 

Mackay§§ of Spoils, his heart recoils, 

He cries in haste his cabul |||| on, 

* Literally, “ the dress," (pron. eidi,) i.e., Highland garb, not yet abolished, 
t Sutherlanders, or Caithness men. X Banner. § Monro of Fowlis. 

1| Rose of Kilravock and his clan. Grant of Grant. ** Lovat. 

ft Of Culloden. t+ Of Sutherland. §§ Lord Reay. 

|| || Steed. The Celtic “ Cabul ” and Latin “ Caballus ” correspond. 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


2i ( 


He flies—as soars the Staghead, 

And raises his cabar on. 

“ Like feather’d creatures flying, 

That in the hill-mist shiver, 

In haste for refuge hieing, 

To the meadow or the river— 

So, port they sought, and took to boat, 

Bewailing what had happen’d them, 

To trust was rash, the missing flash 
Of the rusty guns that weapon’d them. 

The coracle of many a skull, 

The relics of his neighbour, on, 

Monro retreats *—for Staghead 
Is raising his cabar on. 

“ I own my expectation,— 

’Tis this has rous’d my apathy, 

That He who rules creation 

May change the dismal hap of thee, 

And hasten to restore thee 
In safety from thy danger, 

To thine own, in joy and glory, 

To save us from the stranger. 

With princely grace to give redress, 

Nor a taunt to suffer back again ; 

The fell Monro has felt thy blow, 

And should he dare attack again, 

Then as he flew, he’ll run anew, 

The flames to quench he’ll labour on, 

* Here the bard is a little obscure ; but he seems to mean that the Monroes made 
their escape over the skulls of the dead, as if they were boats or coracles by which 
to cross or get away from danger. 


278 


HIGHLAND BARDS. 


Of castle fired—when Staghead 
High raises his caber on ! 

“ I’ve seen thee o’er the lowly, 

A gracious chieftain ever, 

The Catach * self below thee, 

And the Gallach * cower’d for cover ; 

But ever more their striving, 

When claim’d respect thine eye, 

Thy scourge corrected, driving 
To other lands to fly. 

The loyal crew of clansmen true, 

No panic fear shall turn them, 

With steel-cap, blade, and skene array’d, 

Their banning foes they spurn them. 

Clan-Shimeif then may dare them, 

They’ll fly, had each a sabre on, 

Needs but a look—when Staghead 
Once raises his cabar on. 

“ Mounts not the wing a fouler thing, 

Than thy vaunted crest, the eagle, J O ! 

Inglorious chief! to boast the thief, 

That forays with the beagle, O ! 

For shame ! preferr’d that ravening bird !§ 

My song shall raise the mountain-deer ; 

The prey he scorns, the carcass spurns, 

He loves the cress, the fountain cheer. 

* The Caithness and Sutherland men. t Lovat’s men. 

J The eagle being the crest of the Monro. 

§ The eagle ; the crest of Monro of Fowlis. The filthy and cruel habits of this 
predatory bird are here contrasted with the forest-manners of the stag in a singular 
specimen of clan vituperation. 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


279 


His lodge is in the forest;— 

While carrion-flesh enticing 
The greedy maw, thou buriest 
Thou kite of prey ! thy claws in 
The putrid corse of famish’d horse, 

The greedy hound a-striving 
To rival thee in gluttony, 

Both at the bowels riving. 

Thou called the true bird ! * * * § —Never, 

Thou foster child of evil, + ha ! 

How ill match with thy feather J 
The talons § of thy devilry ! 

But when thy foray preys on 

Our harmless flocks so dastardly, 

How often has the shepherd 

With trusty baton master’d thee ; 

Well in thy fright hast timed thy flight, 

Else not alone belabouring, 

He’d gored thee with the Staghead, 

Up-raising his cabar on.|| 

“ Woe worth the world, deceiver— 

So false, so fair of seeming ! 

We’ve seen the noble SiphortlT 
With all his war-notes** screaming ; 

* Fioreun , the name of the eagle, signifying true bird. 

t Literally—Accursed by Moses, or the Mosaic law. 

+ The single eagle’s feather crested the chieftain’s bonnet. 

§ Literally—If thy feather is noble, thy claws are (of) the devil ! 

II This picture of the eagle is not much for edification—nor another hit at the lion 
of the Macdonalds, then at feud with the Seaforth. The former is abridged, and 
the latter omitted; as also a lively detail of the creagk, in which the Monroes are 
reproached with their spoilages of cheese, butter, and winter-mart beef. 

K S eaforth. ** Literally—Bagpipes. 


280 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


When not a chief in Albain, 

Mac-Ailein’s * self though backing him, 

Could face his frown—as Staghead 
Arose with his cabar on. 

“ To join thy might, when call’d the right, 

A gallant army springing on, 

Would rise, from Assint to the crags 
Of Scalpa, rescue bringing on. 

Each man upon, true-flinted gun, 

Steel glaive, and trusty dagaichean ; 

With the Island Lord of Sleite,+ 

When up rose thy cabar on ! 

“ Come too the men of Muideart,J 

While stream’d their flag its bravery 
Their gleaming weapons, blue-dyed, 

That havoc’d on the cavalry. 

Macalister,|| Mackinnon, 

With many a flashing trigger there, 

The foemen rushing in on, 

Resistless show’d their vigour there. 

May fortune free thee—may we see thee 
Again in Br&un,^I the turreted, 

Girt with thy clan ! And not a man 
But will get the scorn he merited. 

* Macallammore : Argyle. 

t Macdonald of Sleat. { Clanranald’s country. 

§ Literally—Of blue steel. 

|| Mac-Mhic-Alister, the patronymic of Glengarry. 

H Castle Brahan, Seaforth’s seat. 


HIGHLAND HARDS. 


281 


Then wine will play, and usquebae 
From flaggons, and from badalan,* 

And pipers scream—when Staghead 
High raises his cabar on.” 

Alexander Macdonald, who has been termed the Byron 
of Highland Bards, was born on the farm of Dalilea, in 
Moidart. His father was a nonjuring clergyman of the 
same name; hence the poet is popularly known as Mac- 
aistir-Alaister , or Alexander the parson’s son. The precise 
date of his birth is unknown, but he seems to have been 
bom about the first decade of the last century. He was 
employed as a catechist, and published a vocabulary, for 
the use of Gaelic schools. This work, which was the first 
of the kind in the language, was published at Edinburgh in 
1741. Macdonald was subsequently elected schoolmaster of 
Ardnamurchan, and ordained an elder in the parish church. 
But the most eventful part of his life was yet to come. On 
the tidings of the landing of Prince Charles Edward, he 
awoke his muse to excite a rising, buckled on his broadsword, 
and to complete his duty to his Prince, apostatized to the 
Catholic religion. In the army of the Prince he bore an 
officer’s commission. At the close of the Rebellion, he at 
first sought shelter in Borrodale and Arisaig; he afterwards 
proceeded to Edinburgh, with the view of teaching children 
in the Jacobite connection. The latter course was attended 
with this advantage; it enabled him by subscription to 
* Gaelic —Barrels of liquor, properly buidealan. 


282 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


print a volume of Gaelic poetry, which contains all his best 
productions. Returning to his native district, he attempted 
farming without success, and ultimately he became de¬ 
pendent on the liberality of his relations. He died some¬ 
time subsequent to the middle of the century. He composed 
a large quantity of poetry, embracing the descriptive, in 
which his reading made him largely a borrower; the lyrical 
in which he excelled ; the satirical, in which he was personal 
and licentious; and the Jacobitical, in which he issued forth 
treason. “ The Lion of Macdonald ” was suggested by the 
success of “ Caberfae.” It proceeds thus : 

THE LION OF MACDONALD. 

“ Awake, thou first of creatures ! Indignant in their frown, 

Let the flag unfold the features that the heather * blossoms crown ; 
Arise, and lightly mount thy crest while flap thy flanks in air, 

And I will follow thee the best, that I may dow or dare. 

Yes, I will sing the Lion-King o’er all the tribes victorious, 

To living thing may not concede thy meed and actions glorious ; 
How oft thy noble head has woke thy valiant men to battle, 

As panic o’er their spirit broke, and rued the foe their mettle ! 

Is there, thy praise to underrate, in very thought presuming, 

O’er crested chieftainry t thy state, O thou, of right assuming ? 

I see thee, on thy silken flag, in rampant J glory streaming, 

As life inspired their firmness thy planted hind feet seeming. 

The standard tree is proud of thee, its lofty sides embracing, 

Anon, unfolding, to give forth thy grandeur airy space in. 

* The clan badge is a tuft of heather. 

t The Macdonalds claimed the right wing in battle. 

+ A lion rampant is their cognisance ; gules. 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


283 


A following of the trustiest are cluster’d by thy side, 

And woe, their flaming visages of crimson, who shall bide ? 

The heather and the blossom are pledges of their faith, 

And the foe that shall assail them, is destined to the death. 

Was not a dearth of mettle among thy native kind ? 

They were foremost in the battle, nor in the chase behind. 

Their arms of fire wreak’d out their ire, their shields emboss’d with 
gold, 

And the thrusting of their venom’d points upon the foeman told ; 

O deep and large was every gash that mark’d their manly vigour, 
And irresistible the flash that lighten’d round their trigger ; 

And woe, when play’d the dark blue blade, the thick back’d sharp 
Ferrara, 

Though plied its might by stripling hand, it cut into the marrow. 
Clan Colla,* let them have their due, thy true and gallant follow¬ 
ing, 

Strength, kindness, grace, and clannishness, their lofty spirit hal¬ 
lowing. 

Hot is their ire as flames aspire, the whirling March winds fanning 
them, 

Yet search their hearts, no blemish’d parts are found all eyes though 
scanning them. 

They rush elate to stern debate, the battle call has never 
Found tardy cheer or craven fear, or grudge the prey to sever. 

Ah, fell their wrath ! The dance + of death sends legs and arms a 
flying, 

And thick the life-blood’s reek ascends of the downfallen and the 
dying. 

* Their original patronymic, from, we suppose, Old King Coul; Coll, or Colla, is 
a common name in the tribe. 

t The “ Mire Chatta,” or battle-dance, denotes the frenzy, supposed to animate 
the combatants, during the period of excitement. 


284 


HIGHLAND BARDS. 


Clandonuil, still my darling theme, is the prime of every clan, 

How oft the heady war in, has it chased where thousands ran ! 

O ready, bold, and venom full, these native warriors brave, 

Like adders coiling on the hill, they dart with stinging glaive ; 

Nor wants their course the speed, the force,—nor wants their gallant 
stature, 

This of the rock, that of the flock that skim along the water, 

Like whistle shriek the blows they strike, as the torrent of the fell, 

So fierce they gush—the moor flames’ rush their ardour symbols 
well. 

Clandonuil’s* root when crown each shoot of sapling, branch, and 
stem, 

What forest fair shall e’er compare in stately pride with them ? 

Their gathering might, what legion wight, in rivalry, has dar’d ; 

Or to ravish from their Lion’s face a bristle of his beard ? 

What limbs were wrench’d, what furrows drench’d, in that cloud 
burst of steel, 

That atoned the provocation, and smok’d from head to heel, 

While cry and shriek of terror break the field of strife along, 

And stranger f notes are wailing the slaughter’d heaps among. 

Where from the kingdom’s breadth and length might other muster 
gather, 

So flush in spirit, firm in strength, the stress of arms to weather ? 
Steel to the core, that evermore to expectation true, 

Like gallant deer-hounds from the slip, or like an arrow flew, 

Where deathful strife was calling, and sworded files were closed 
Was sapping breach the wall in of the ranks that stood oppos’d, 

* The clan consisted of many septs, whose rights of precedence are not quite as¬ 
certained; as Sleat, Clanronald, Glengarry, Keppoch, and Glencoe. 

t Lit. Lowland or stranger. Killiecrankie and Sheriff Muir, not to mention 
Innerlochy and Tippermuir, must have blended the dying shrieks of Lowlander 
with the triumphant shouts of the Gael. The image is a fine one. 


HIGHLAND BARDS. 


285 


And thirsty brands were hot for blood, and quivering to be on, 

And with the whistle of the blade was sounding many a groan. 

O from the sides of Albyn, full thousands would be proud, 

The natives of her mountains grey, around the tree to crowd, 

Where stream the colours flying, and frown the features grim, 

Of your emblem lion with his staunch and crimson * limb. 

Up, up, be bold, quick be unroll’d, the gathering of your levy,+ 

Let every step bound forth a leap, and every hand be heavy ; 

The furnace of the melee where burn your swords the best, 

Eschew not, to the rally where blaze your streamers, haste ! 

That silken sheet, by death strokes fleet, and strong defenders 
mann’d,— 

Dismays the flutter of its leaves the chosen of the land. 

Macdonald’s “ Praise of Morag” is the “ Faust ” of Gaelic 
poetry, incommunicable except to the native reader, and, 
like that composition, an untranslatable tissue of tenderness, 
sublimity, and mocking ribaldry. The heroine is understood 
to have been a young person of virtue and beauty, in the 
humbler walks of life, who was quite unappropriated, except 
by the imagination of the poet, and whose fame has passed 
into the Phillis or Amaryllis ideal of Highland accomplish¬ 
ment and grace. Macdonald was married to a scold, and 
though his actual relations with Morag were of the Platonic 
kind, he was persuaded to a retractation, entitled the “ Dis¬ 
paragement of Morag,” which is sometimes recited as a 
companion piece. 

* The armorial emblems was gules, 
f Prince Charles Edward was expected. 


286 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


URLAR. 

“ O that I were the shaw in,* 

When Morag was there, 

Lots to be drawing 

For the prize of the fair ! 

Mingling in your glee, 

Merry maidens ! We 
Rollicking would be 
The flow’rets along ; 

Time would pass away 

In the oblivion of our play, 

As we cropp’d the primrose gay, 

The rock-clefts among ; 

Then in mock we’d fight, 

Then we’d take to flight, 

Then we’d lose us quite, 

Where the cliffs overhung. 

Like the dew-drop blue 
In the mist of morn, 

So thine eye, and thy hue 
Put the blossom to scorn. 

All beauties they shower 
On thy person their dower ; 

Above is the flower, 

Beneath is the stem ; 

’Tis a sun ’mid the gleamers, 

’Tis a star ’mid the streamers, 

* We must suppose some sylvan social occupation, as oak-peeling or the like, in 
which Morag and her associates had been employed. 


HIGHLAND BARDS. 


287 


’Mid the flower-buds it shimmers 
The foremost of them ! 

Darkens eye-sight at thy ray ! 

As we wonder, still we say 
Can it be a thing of clay 
We see in that gem. 

Since thy first feature 
Sparkled before me, 

Fair ! not a creature 

Was like thy glory.* .... 

SIUBHAL. 

“ Away with all, away with all, 

Away with all but Morag, 

A maid whose grace and mensefulness 

Still carries all before it. 

You shall not find her marrow, 

For beauty without furrow, 

Though you search the islands thorough 

From Muile + to the Lewis ; 

So modest is each feature, 

So void of pride her nature, 

And every inch of stature 

To perfect grace so true is.J 
* * * * 

O that drift, like a pillow, 

We madden to share it; 

* Here follows a catalogue of rival beauties, with satirical descriptions. Cowley 
has such a list, which may possibly have been in the poet’s eye. 

t Mull. 

♦ Morag’s beauties are so exquisite, that all Europe, nay, the Pope, would be in¬ 
flamed to behold them. The passage is omitted, though worthy of the satiric vein of 
Mephistopheles. 



288 


HIGHLAND BARDS. 


O that white of the lily, 

’Tis passion to near it; 

Every charm in a cluster, 

The rose adds its lustre— 

Can it be but such muster 
Should banish the Spirit ! 

URLAR. 

“ We would strike the note of joy 
In the morning, 

The dawn with its orangery 
The hill-tops adorning. 

To bush and fell resorting, 

While the shades conceal’d our courting. 

Would not be lack of sporting 
Or gleeful phrenesie; 

Like the roebuck and his mate, 

In their woodland haunts elate 
The race we would debate 
Around the tendril tree.” 

SIUBHAL. 

“ Thou bright star of maidens, 

A beam without haze, 

No murkiness saddens, 

No disk-spot bewrays. 

The swan-down to feeling, 

The snow of the gaillin,* 

Thy limbs all excelling, 

Unite to amaze. 

* The gannet, or the stranger-bird , from his foreign derivation and periodic visits 
to the Islands. 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


289 


The queen, I would name thee, 
Of maidenly muster ; 

Thy stem is so seemly, 

So rich is its cluster 
Of members complete, 

Adroit at each feat, 

And thy temper so sweet, 
Without banning or bluster. 
My grief has press’d on 
Since the vision of Morag, 

As the heavy millstone 

On the cross-tree lhat bore it. 
In vain the world over, 

Seek her match may the rover ; 
A shaft, thy poor lover, 

First struck overpowering. 

“ When thy ringlets of gold, 

With the crooks of their fold, 
Thy neck-wards were roll’d 
All weavy and showering. 

Like stars that are ring’d, 

Like gems that are string’d 
Are those locks, while, as wing’d 
From the sun, blends a ray 
Of his yellowest beams ; 

And the gold of his gleams 
Behold how he streams 
’Mid those tresses to play. 

In thy limbs like the canna.* 


* 


A snowy grass, well known in the moors. 
T 


290 


HIGHLAND DADDS. 


Thy cinnamon kiss, 

Thy bright kirtle, we ken a 
New phoenix of bliss. 

In thy sweetness of tone. 

All the woman we own, 

Nor a sneer nor a frown 
On thy features appear ; 

When the crowd is in motion 
For Sabbath devotion,* 

As an angel, arose on 
Their vision, my fair 
With her meekness of grace, 

And the flakes of her dress, 

As they stream, might express 
Such loveliness there. 

When endow’d at thy birth 

We marvel that earth 

From its mould, should yield worth 

Of a fashion so rare. 

URLAR. 

‘ ‘ I never dream’d would sink 
On a peak that mounts world’s brink, 
Of sunlight, such a blink, 

Morag ! as thine. 

As the charmings of a spell, 

Working in their cell, 

So dissolves the heart where dwell 
Thy graces divine. 


* Lit. On the day of devotion. 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


201 


SIUBHAL. 

“ Come, counsel me, my comrades, 

While dizzy fancy lingers, 

Did ever flute become, lads, 

The motion of such fingers ? * 

Did ever isle or Mor-hir,T 
Or see or hear, before her, 

Such gracefulness, adore her 
Yet, woes me, how concealing 
From her I’ve wedded, dare I ? 

Still, homeward bound, I tarry, 

And Jeanie’s eye is weary, 

Her truant unrevealing. 

The glow of love I feel, 

Not all the linns of Sheil, 

Nor Cruachan's snow avail 
Too cool to congealing. . . . 

CRUNLUATH. 

“ My very brain is humming, sirs, 

As a swarm of bees were bumming, sirs, 

And I fear distraction’s coming, sirs, 

My passion such a flame is. 

My very eyes are blinding, sirs, 

Scarce giant mountains finding, sirs, 

Nor height nor distance minding, sirs, 

The crag, as Corrie, tame is.” . . . 

john Roy Stuart was an officer in the Jacobite army of 
745. He was the son of a farmer in Strathspey, who gave 

* Here Morag’s musical performance on the flute, forms the subject of a panegyric 
which Urlar, Siubhal, and Crunluath are imitated, 
t The mainland, or terra Jirma, is called Morir by the islanders. 







292 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


him a good education, and procured him a commission in a 
Highland regiment, which at the period served in Flanders. 
His military experiences abroad proved serviceable in the 
cause to which he afterwards devoted himself. In the 
army of Prince Charles Edward, he was entrusted with 
important commands at Gladsmuir, Clifton, Falkirk, and 
Culloden; and he was deemed of sufficient consequence to 
be pursued by the Government with an amount of vigilance 
which rendered his escape almost miraculous. An able 
military commander, he was an excellent poet. His 
“ Lament for Lady Macintosh ” has supplied one of the 
most beautiful airs in Highland music.* In the second of 
his pieces on the battle of Culloden, the lamentation for the 
absence of the missing clans, and the night march to the 
field, are executed with the skill and address of a genuine 
bard, while the story of the battle is recited with the fervour 
of an honourable partisan. Stuart died abroad in circum¬ 
stances not differing from those of the best and bravest, 
who were engaged in his ill-fated enterprise. 

THE DAY OF CULLODEN. 

“ Ah, the wound of my breast! Sinks my heart to the dust, 

And the rain-drops of sorrow are watering the ground ; 

So impassive to hear, never pierces my ear, 

Or briskly or slowly, the music of sound. 

For, what tidings can charm, while emotion is warm 
With the thought of my Prince on his travel unknown ; 

* See the Rev. Patrick Macdonald’s Collection, No. 106 



HIGHLAND BALDS. 


293 


The royal in blood, by misfortune subdued, 

While the base-born * by hosts is secured on the throne ? 

Of the hound is the race that lias wrought our disgrace, 

Yet the boast of the litter of mongrels is small, 

Not the arm of your might makes it boast of our flight, 

But the musters that failed at the moment of call— 

Five banners were furl’d that might challenge the world, 

Of their silk not a pennon was spread to the day ; 

Where is Cromarty’s earl, with the fearless of peril, 

Young Barisdale’s following, Mackinnon’s array ? 

Where the sons of the glen,f the Clan-Gregor, in vain 
That never were hail’d to the carnage of war— 

Where Macvurich, + the child of victory styled? 

How we sigh’d when we learn’d that his host was afar ! 
Clan-donuil,§ my bosom friend, woe that the blossom 
That crests your proud standard, for once disappear’d, 

Nor marshall’d your march, where your princely deserts 
Without stain might the cause of the right have uprear’d ! 

And now I say woe, for the sad overthrow 

Of the clan that is honour’d with Frazer’s|| command, 

And the FarquharsonsU bold on the Mar-braes enroll’d, 

So ready to rise, and so trusty to stand. 

* George the First’s Queen was a divorcee. The Jacobites retorted the alleged 
spuriousness of the Chevalier de St George, on George II., the reigning sovereign. 

t Glengyle , and his Macgregors, were on their way from the Sutherland expedi¬ 
tion, but did not reach in time to take part in the action. 

J Macpherson of Cluny, the hero of the night skirmish at Clifton, and, with his 
clan, greatly distinguished in the Jacobite wars. 

§ Macdonald of the Isles refused to join the Prince. 

H Of the routed army, the division whereof the Frazers formed the greater number 
fled to Inverness. Being the least considerable in force, they were pursued by the 
Duke of Cumberland’s light horse, and almost entirely massacred. 

•[ The Farquharsons formed part of the unfortunate right wing in the battle, and 
suffered severely. 






2 94 - 


HIGHLAND BARDS. 


But redoubled are shed my tears for the dead, 

As I think of Clan-chattan,* the foremost in fight ; 

Oh, woe for the time that has shrivell’d their prime, 

And woe that the left + had not stood at the right! 

Our sorrows bemoan gentle Donuil the Donn, 

And Alister Rua the king of the feast; 

And valorous Raipert the chief of the true-heart. 

Who fought till the beat of its energy ceased. 

In the mist of that night vanish’d stars that were bright. 

Nor by tally nor price shall their worth be replaced ; 

♦ 

Ah, boded the morning of our brave unreturning, 

When it drifted the clouds in the rush of its blast. 

As we march’d on the hill, such the floods that distil, 

Turning dry bent to bog, and to plash-pools the heather. 

That friendly no more was the ridge of the moor, 

Nor free to our tread, and the ire of the weather 
Anon was inflamed by the lightning untamed, 

And the hail rash that stonn’d from the mouth of the gun. 

Hard pelted the stranger, ere we measured our danger, 

And broadswords were masterless, marr’d, and undone. $ 

Sure as answers my song to its title, a wrong 

To our forces, the wiles of the traitor§ have wrought ; 

* The Mackintoshes, whose impetuosity hurried the right wing into action before 
the order to engage had been transmitted over the lines. They were of course the 
principal sufferers. 

t An allusion to the provocation given to the Macdonalds of Clanranald, Glen¬ 
garry, and Keppoch, by being deprived of their usual position—the right wing. 
Their motions are supposed to have been tardy in consequence. The poet was him¬ 
self in the right wing. 

t The unfortunate night-march of the Highlanders is described with historic truth 

and great poetic effect. 

§ Roy Stuart lived and died in the belief (most unfounded, it seems), that Lord 
George Murray was bribed and his army betrayed. 







HIGHLAND DADDS. 


295 


To each true man’s disgust, the leader in trust 
Has barter’d his honour, and infamy bought. 

His gorget he spurns, and his mantle* he turns, 

And for gold he is won, to his sovereign untrue ; 

But a turn of the wheel to the liar will deal, 

From the south or the north, the award of his due, 

And fell William, + the son of the man on the throne, 

Be his emblem the leafless, the marrowless tree ; 

May no sapling his root, and his branches no fruit 
Afford to his hope ; and his hearth, let it be 
As barren and bare—not a partner to share, 

Not a brother to love, not a babe to embrace ; 

Mute the harp, and the taper be smother’d in vapour, 

Like Egypt, the darkness and loss of his race ! 

Oh, yet shall the eye see thee swinging on high, 

And thy head shall be pillow’d where ravens shall prey, 

And the lieges each one, from the child to the man, 

The monarch by right shall with fondness obey.” 

William Ross, the Bard of Gairloch, and the Burns of 
the Gaelic Highlands, was born at Broadford, in the island 
of Skye, in 1762. He received his school education at 
Forres, whither his parents removed during his youth, and 
obtained his poetical training among the wilds of Highland 
scenery, which he visited with his father, who subsisted as 
a pedlar. Acquiring a knowledge of the classics and of 
general learning, he was found qualified for the situation of 
parish schoolmaster of Gairloch. He died at Gairloch in 

* Military orders received from the Court of St Germains. 

+ The Duke of Cumberland. 



296 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


1790, at the early age of twenty-eight. Ross celebrated the 
praises of whisky ( uisg-bea) in several lyrics, which continue 
popular among the Gael; but the chief theme of his in¬ 
spiration was “ Mary Ross,” a fair Hebridean, whose 
coldness and ultimate desertion proved fatal to the too 
susceptible bard. 


THE HIGHLAND MAY. 

“ Let the maids of the Lowlands 
Vaunt their silks and their Hollands, 
In the garb of the Highlands 
Oh give me my dear ! 

Such a figure for grace ! 

For the Loves such a face ! 

And for lightness the pace 

That the grass shall not stir. 

* * * * * 

“ Lips of cherry confine 
Teeth of ivory shine, 

And with blushes combine 
To keep us in thrall. 

Thy converse exceeding 
All eloquent pleading, 

Thy voice never needing 
To rival the fall 
Of the music of art,— 

Steal their way to the heart, 

And resistless impart 

Their enchantment to all. 


HIGHLAND BARDS. 


29 


“ When Beltane is over, 

And summer joys hover, 

With thee a glad rover 
I’ll wander along, 

Where the harp-strings of nature 
Are strung by each creature, 

And the sleep shall be sweeter 
That lulls to their song, 
There, bounding together, 

On the lawn of the heather, 

And free from the tether, 

The heifers shall throng. 

“ There shall pasture the ewes, 
There the spotted goats browse, 
And the kids shall arouse 

In their madness of play ; 
They shall butt, they shall fight, 
They shall emulate flight, 

They shall break with delight 

O’er the mountains away. 
And there shall my Mary 
With her faithful one tarry, 

And never be weary 

In the hollows to stray, 

“ While a concert shall cheer us, 
For the bushes are near us ; 

And the birds shall not fear us, 
We’ll harbour so still. 

* * * * * 


298 


HIGHLAND BARDS. 


Strains the mavis his throat, 

Lends the cuckoo her note, 

And the world is forgot 

By the side of the hill.” 

Lachlan Macvurich, known by his territorial designation 
of “ Strathmassie,” lived during nearly eighty years of the 
last century, and died towards its close. His proper 
patronymic was Macpherson. He was a favourite tenant 
of the chief of Cluny, and continued to enjoy the benefit of 
his lease of a large farm in Badenoch, after the misfortunes 
of the family, and forfeiture of their estate. He was very 
intimate with his clansman, James Macpherson, who has 
identified his own fame so immortally with that of Ossian. 
Lachlan had the reputation of being his Gaelic tutor, and 
was certainly his fellow-traveller during the preparation of 
his work. In the specimens of his poetical talents which 
are preserved, “ Strathmassie ” evinces the command of 
good Gaelic, though there is nothing to indicate his power 
of being at all serviceable to his namesake in that fabrication 
of imagery, legends, and sentiments, which, in the opinion 
of many, constitutes all that we have in the name of Ossian. 
The brave chief of Cluny, after lingering long on the heights 
of Benalder, where he entertained his unfortunate prince 
during some of the last days of the adventurer’s wandering, 
at length took shipping for France, amidst the tears and 
regrets of a clan that loved him with the fondest devotion. 
“ Strathmassie ” seems to have caught, in the following verses, 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


299 


some characteristic traits of his chief, in whom peaceful dis¬ 
positions were remarkably blended with the highest courage 
in warfare. 

“ Oh, many a true Highlander, many a liegeman, 

Is blank on the roll of the brave in our land; 

And bare as its heath is the dark mountain region, 

Of its own and its prince’s defenders unmann’d. 

The hound’s death abhorr’d, some have died by the cord, 

And the axe with the best of our blood is defiled, 

And e’en to the visions of hope unrestored, 

Some have gone from among us, for ever exiled. 

• “ He is gone from among us, our chieftain of Cluny; 

At the back of the steel, a more valiant ne’er stood; 

Our father, our champion, bemoan we, bemoan we ! 

In battle, the brilliant; in friendship, the good. 

When the sea shut him from us, then the cross of our trial 
Was hung on the mast and was swung in the wind: 

‘ Woe the worth we have sepulchred ! ’ now is the cry all; 

‘ Save the shade of a memory, is nothing behind. ’ 

“ What symbols may match our brave chief’s animation ? 

When his wrath was awake, ’twas a furnace in glow; 

As a surge on the rock struck his bold indignation, 

As the breach to the wall was his arm to the foe. 

So the tempest comes down, when it lends in its fury 
To the frown of its darkness the rattling of hail ; 

So rushes the land-flood in turmoil and hurry, 

So bickers the hill-flame when fed by the gale. 

“ Yet gentle as Peace was the flower of his race, 

Rare was shade on his face, as dismay in his heart; 


300 


HIGHLAND DADDS. 


The brawl and the scuffle he deem’d a disgrace, 

But the hand to the brand was as ready to start. 

Who could grapple with him in firmness of limb 
And sureness of sinew ? and—for the stout blow— 

’Twas the scythe to the swathe in the meadows of death, 

Where numbers were levell’d as fast and as low. 

“ Ever loyal to reason, we’ve seen him appeasing 
With a wave of one hand the confusion of strife; 

With the other unsheathing his sword, and, unbreathing, 
Following on for the right in the havoc of life. 

To the wants of the helpless, the wail of the weak, 

His hand aye was open, his arm was aye strong; 

And under yon sun, not a tongue can bespeak 
His word or his deed that was blemish’d with wrong.” 

James M‘Laggan was the son of a small farmer at 
Ballechin, in the parish of Logierait, Perthshire, where he 
was born in 1728. Educated at the University of St 
Andrews, he received license as a probationer of the 
Established Church. Through the influence of the Duke 
of Atholl, he was appointed to the chapel of ease, at 
Amulree, in Perthshire, and subsequently to the chaplain¬ 
ship of the 42d Regiment, his commission to the latter 
office bearing date the 15th of June 1764. His predecessor 
in the chaplainship was Dr Adam Ferguson, author of the 
“ History of the Roman Republic,” who was also a native 
of Logierait. 

Than Mr M‘Laggan, few could have been better qualified 
for the duties of chaplain to a Highland regiment. He was 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


301 


intimately conversant with the language, character, and 
partialities of the Gael, and was possessed of much military 
ardour, as well as Christian devotedness. He accompanied 
the regiment to America, and was present in several 
skirmishes during the War of Independence. Anecdotes 
are still recounted of the humour and spirit with which he 
maintained an influence over the minds of his flock; and 
Stewart, in his “ History of the Highlands,” has described 
him as having essentially contributed to form the character 
of the Highland soldier, then in the novitiate of his loyalty 
and efficiency in the national service. In 1776, while 
stationed with his regiment in Glasgow, he had the freedom 
of the city conferred on him by the corporation. After 
discharging the duties of military chaplain during a period 
of twenty-four years, he was in 1788 presented by the Duke 
of Atholl to the parish of Blair-Athole, Perthshire. He 
died in 1805, in the seventy-seventh year of his age. 

A pious and exemplary clergyman, Mr M‘Laggan is still 
kindly remembered in the scene of his parochial ministra¬ 
tions. An accomplished Gaelic scholar, and with a strong 
admiration of the poetry of the Gael, he recovered, from 
the recitation of many aged persons, large portions of the 
poetry of Ossian, prior to the publication of the collections 
of Macpherson.* He composed some spirited Gaelic lyrics 
during the period of his connection with the army, but the 

* Macpherson afterwards consulted Mr M‘Laggan’s “Collection ot 
Ossianic Remains” (^report on Ossian, App. 153). 


302 


HIGHLAND BANDS. 


greater portion of his poetry still remains in MS. A collec¬ 
tion of Gaelic songs under his editorial superintendence 
was published anonymously. Mr M‘Laggan was of fair and 
ruddy complexion, and was under the middle stature. He 
was fond of humour, and his dispositions were singularly 
benevolent. In youth, he was remarkable for his skill in 
athletic exercises. He married a daughter of the Rev. 
James Stewart, minister of Killin, the originator of the 
translation of the Scriptures into the Gaelic language. Of 
a family of four sons and three daughters, one son and two 
daughters still survive; his eldest son, the Rev. James 
M‘Laggan, D.D., was successively minister of the parishes 
of Auchtergaven and Kinfauns, in Perthshire, and ultimately 
Professor of Divinity in the Free Church, Aberdeen. In 
the Song of the Royal Highland Regiment ” we present a 
specimen of M‘Laggan’s minstrelsy. 

“For success, a prayer, with a farewell, bear 

To the warriors dear of the muir and the valley— 

The lads that convene in their plaiding of green, 

With the curtal coat, and the sweeping eil-e. 

In their belts array’d, where the dark blue blade 
Is hung, with the dirk at the side ; 

When the sword is at large, and uplifted the targe, 

Ha ! not a foe the boys will abide. 

“ The followers in peril of Ian the Earl, 

The race of the wight of hand; 

Sink the eyes of the foe, of the friend’s mounts the glow, 

When the Murdoch’s high blood takes command. 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


303 


With Loudon to lead ye, the wise and the steady, 

The daring in fight and the glorious, 

Like the lightning ye’ll rush, with the sword’s bright flash, 
And return to your mountains victorious. 

“ Oh, sons of the Lion ! your watch is the wild-lands, 

The garb of the Highlands is mingled with blue, 

Though the target and bosses are bright in the Highlands, 
The axe in your hands might be blunted well, too. 

Then forward—and see ye be huntsmen true, 

And, as erst the red deer felling, 

So fell ye the Gaul, and so strike ye all 
The tribes in the backwoods dwelling. 

“ Where ocean is roaring, let top-sails be towering, 

And sails to the motion of helm be flying ; 

Though high as the mountain, or smooth as the fountain, 

Or fierce as the boiling floods angrily crying ; 

Though the tide with a stroke be assailing the rock, 

Oh, once let the pibroch’s wild signal be heard, 

Then the waves will come bending in dimples befriending, 
And beckoning the friends of their country on board. 

The ocean-tide’s swelling, its fury is quelling, 

In salute of thunder proclaiming your due ; 

And, methinks, that the hum of a welcome is come, 

And is warbling the Jorram to you. 

“ When your levy is landed, oh, bright as the pearls 

Shall the strangers who welcome you, gladly and greeting 
Speak beautiful thoughts ; aye, the beautiful girls 
From their eyes shall the tears o’er the ruby be meeting, 
And encounter ye, praying, from the storm and the slaying, 

‘ From the stranger, the enemy, save us, oh, save! 


304 


HIGHLAND BARDS. 


From rapine and plunder, O tear us asunder,— 

Our noble defenders are ever the brave ! ’ 

“ ‘ If the fondest ye of true lovers be,’ 

So cries each trembling beauty, 

‘ Be bold in the fight, and give transport’s delight 
To your friends and the fair, by your duty.’ 

‘ Oh, yes ! ’ shall the beautiful hastily cry; 

‘ Oh, yes ! ’ in a word, shall the valiant reply; 

‘ By our womanly faith we pledge you for both, 

For where’er we contract, and where’er we betroth, 

We vow with the daring to die ! ’ 

“ Faithful to trust is the lion-like host 

Whom the dawn of their youth doth inure 
To hunger’s worst ire, and to action’s bold fire, 

And to ranging the wastes of the moor. 

Accustom’d so well to each enterprise snell, 

Be the chase or the warfare their quarry ; 

Aye ever they fight the best, for the right 

To the strike of the swords, when they hurry.” 

One of the most learned ot the modern Gaelic song¬ 
writers, Evan Maclachlan, was born in 1775, a small hut 
called Torracaltuin, in the district of Lochaber. After 
struggling with many difficulties in obtaining the means of 
education, he qualified himself for the duties of an itinerat¬ 
ing tutor. In this capacity it was his good fortune to live 
in the families of the substantial tenantry of the district, 
two of whom, the farmers at Clunes and Glen Pean, were 
led to evince an especial interest in his welfare. The 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


305 


localities of those early patrons he has celebrated in his 
poetry. Another patron, the Chief of Glengarry, supplied 
funds to enable him to proceed to the university, and he 
was fortunate in gaining, by competition, a bursary or 
exhibition at King’s College, Aberdeen. For a Greek ode, 
on the generation of light, he gained the prize granted for 
competition to the King’s College by the celebrated Dr 
Claudius Buchanan. Having held, during a period of years, 
the office of librarian in King’s College, he was in 1819 
elected master of the grammar school of Old Aberdeen. 
His death took place on the 29th March 1822, and his 
remains were interred at Killeraodairn, Ardgour. In the 
churchyard of Fort William a handsome obelisk has been 
erected to his memory. To the preparation of a Gaelic 
dictionary he had devoted the most important part of his 
life. Subsequent to his decease, this work was published 
in two quarto volumes, by the Highland Society, under 
the editorial care of Dr Mackay, formerly of Dunoon. 
The chief amusement of Maclachlan’s leisure hours was 
executing translations of Homer into Gaelic. His trans¬ 
lation of the third book of the Iliad has been printed. 
Of his powers as a Gaelic poet, an estimate may be 
formed from the following specimens. The first stanza 
of “ The Melody of Love ” was the composition of 
a lady. Maclachlan completed the poems in Gaelic, 
and afterwards produced this version of the whole in 
English: 


u 







30G 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


“ Not a swan on the lake, or the foam on the shore, 

Can compare with the charms of the maid I adore: 

Not so white is the new milk that flows o’er the pail, 

Or the snow that is shower'd from the boughs of the vale. 

“ As the cloud’s yellow wreath on the mountain’s high brow, 

The locks of my fair one redundantly flow ; 

Her cheeks have the tint that the roses display 
When they glitter with dew on the morning of May. 

“ As the planet of Venus that gleams o’er the grove, 

Her blue rolling eyes are the symbols of love: 

Her pearl-circled bosom diffuses bright rays, 

Like the moon when the stars are bedimm’d with her blaze. 

“ The mavis and lark, when they welcome the dawn, 

Make a chorus of joy to resound through the lawn: 

But the mavis is tuneless, the lark strives in vain, 

When my beautiful charmer renews her sweet strain. 

‘ ‘ When summer bespangles the landscape with flowers, 

While the thrush and the cuckoo sing soft from the bowers, 
Through the wood-shaded windings with Bella I’ll rove, 

And feast unrestrain’d on the smiles of my love.” 

The verses entitled “ The Mavis of the Clan,” are 
allegorical. In the character of a song-bird the bard relates 
the circumstances of his nativity, the simple habits of his 
progenitors, and his own rural tastes and recreations from 
infancy, giving the first place to the delights of melody. 
He proceeds to give an account of his flight to a strange 
but hospitable region, where he continued to sing his songs 
among the birds, the flocks, the streams, and cultivated 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


307 


fields of the land of his sojourn. This piece is founded 
upon a common usage of the Gaelic bards, several of whom 
assume the allegorical character of the “ Mavis ” of their 
own clan. Thus we have the Mavis of Clan-ranald by Mac- 
Vaistir-Allister—of Macdonald (of Sleat) by Mac Codrum 
—of Macleod, and many others. 

“ Clan Lachlan’s tuneful mavis, I sing on the branches early, 

And such my love of song, I sleep but half the night-tide rarely ; 

No raven I, of greedy maw, no kite of bloody beak, 

No bird of devastating claw, but a woodland songster meek. 

I love the apple’s infant bloom ; my ancestry have fared 
For ages on the nourishment the orchard hath prepared : 

Their hey-day was the summer, their joy the summer’s dawn, 

And their dancing-floor it was the green leaf’s velvet lawn ; 

Their song was the carol that defiance bade to care, 

And their breath of life it was the summer’s balmiest air. 

“ When first my morn of life was born, the Pean’s* silver stream 
Glanced in my eye, and then there lent my view their kinder gleam, 
The flowers that fringed its side, where, by the fragrant breezes lull’d, 
As in a cradle-bed I lay, and all my woes were still’d. 

But changes will come over us, and now a stranger I 
Among the glades of Cluarant must imp my wings and fly; 

Yet gratitude forbid complaint, although in foreign grove, 

Since welcome to my haunt I come, and there in freedom rove. 

“ By every song-bird charm’d, my ear is fed the livelong day, 

Now from the hollow’s deepest dell, now from the topmost spray, 

* The stream that flows through Glen Pean. 

t The Gaelic name of Clunes, where the bard was entertained for many years of 
his tutor life. 


308 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


The comrades of my lay, they tune their wild notes for my pleasure, 
And I, can I refrain to swell their diapason’s measure ? 

With its own clusters loaded, with its rich foliage dress’d, 

Piach bough is hanging down, and each shapely stem depress’d, 
While nestle their inhabitants, a feather’d tuneful choir, 

That in the strife of song breathe forth a flame of minstrel fire. 

O happy tribe of choristers ! no interruption mars 
The concert of your harmony, nor ever harshly jars 
A string of all your harping, nor of your voices trill 
Notes that are weak for tameness, that are for sharpness shrill. 

‘ ‘ The sun is on his flushing march, his golden hair abroad, 

It seems as on the mountain’s side of beams a furnace glow’d, 

Now melts the honey from all flowers, and now a dew o’erspreads 
(A dew of fragrant blessedness) all the grasses of the meads. 

v 

Nor least in my remembrance is my country’s flowering heather, 
Whose russet crest, nor cold, nor sun, nor sweep of gale may wither; 
Dear to my eye the symbol wild, that loves like me the side 
Of my own Highland mountains that I climb in love and pride. 

“ Dear tribes of Nature ! co-mates ye of Nature’s wandering son— 

I hail the lambs that on the floor of milky pastures run, 

I hail the mother flocks, that wrapp’d in their mantle of fleece, 

Defy the landward tempest’s roar, and defy the seaward breeze. 

The streams they drink are waters of the ever-gushing well, 

Those streams, oh, how they wind around the swellings of the dell ! 
The flowers they browse are mantles spread o’er pastures wide and far, 
As mantle o’er the firmament the stars, each flower a star ! 

I will not name each sister beam, but clustering there I see 
The beauty of the purple-bell, the daisy of the lea. 

“ Of every hue I mark them, the many-spotted kine, 

The dun, the brindled, and the dark, and blends the bright its shine; 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


309 


And, ’mid the Highlands rude, I see the frequent furrows swell, 

With the barley and the corn that Scotland loves so well. 
******** 

“ And now I close my clannish lay with blessings on the shade 
That bids the mavis sing her song, well nurtured, undismay’d ; 

The shade where bloom and cresses, and the ear-honey’d heather, 

Are smiling fair, and dwelling in their brotherhood together ; 

For the sun is setting largely, and blinks my eye its ken ; 

’Tis time to loose the strings, I ween, and close my wild-wood strain.” 

One of the three bards of Cowal is believed to have been 
born in the parish of Inverchaolain about 1750; his family 
name was Brun or Broun, as distinguished from the Low¬ 
land Brown, which he assumed. He first appeared as a 
poet by the publication, at Perth, in 1786, of a small volume 
of Gaelic poetry, dedicated to the Duke of Montrose. The 
subsequent portion of his career seems to have been chiefly 
occupied in genealogical researches. In 1792 he completed, 
in two large sheets, his “ Historical and Genealogical Tree 
of the Royal Family of Scotland;” of which the second 
edition bears the date 1811. This was followed by similar 
genealogical trees of the illustrious family of Graham, of the 
noble house of Elphinstone, and other families. In these 
productions he uniformly styles himself, “ Genealogist to 
H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, for Scotland.” Brown died 
at Edinburgh in the beginning of the year 1821. He had 
formed a respectable connection by marriage, under circum¬ 
stances which he has commemorated in the annexed speci¬ 
men of his poetry. 


310 


HIGHLAND BARDS. 


THE SISTERS OF DUNOLLY.* 

“ The sundown had mantled Ben Nevis with night, 

And the stars were attired in the glory of light. 

And the hope of the lover was shining as day, 

When Dunolly’s fair daughter was sprited away. 

“ Away she has gone at the touch of the helm, 

And the shadows of darkness her lover o’erwhelm— 

But, would that his strength as his purpose was true. 

At Dunolly, Culloden were battled anew ! 

“ Yes ! did they give courtesy, did they give time, 

The kindred of Cowal would meet at the prime, 

And the Brunach + would joy in the succour they gave, 

To win him a bride, or to win him a grave. 

“ My lost one ! I’m not like the laggard thou’st found, 

Whose puissance scarce carries the sword he has bound ; 

In the flush of my health and my penniless youth, 

I could well have rewarded thine honour and truth. 

“ Five years they have pass’d, and the Brunach has shaken 
The burden of woe that his spirit was breaking ; 

A sister is salving a sister’s annoy, 

And the eyes of the Brunach are treasured with joy. 

“ A bride worth the princesses England is rearing, 

Comes forth from Dunolly, a star reappearing ; 

If my heart in Dunolly was garner’d before, 

In Dunolly, my pride and my pleasure is more. 

* The poet had paid his addresses to one of the sisters, but without the consent of 
her relatives, who ultimately induced her to wed another. After a lapse of time the 
bard transferred his affection to another daughter of the same distinguished family, 
and being successful, was'compensated for his former trials, 
t Brunach—The Brown, viz., the poet himself. 






HIGHLAND BALDS. 


311 


“ The lowly, the gentle, the graceful, the mild 
That in friendship or charity never beguiled, 

She is mine—to Dunduala* that traces her stem, 

As for kings to be proud of, ’tis prouder for them, 

Though Donald + the gracious be head of her line, 

And ‘ our exiled and dear ’ X in her pedigree shine. 

“ Then hearken, ye sons of my country, forbear, 

Unsmooth though the course of your love, to despair 
Ere ye yield to your sorrow or die in your folly, 

May ye find, like the Brunach, another Dunolly.” 

The Rev. Dr Stewart was born at Appin, Argyllshire, in 
1751. His mother was a daughter of Edmonstone of 
Cambuswallace, the representative of an old family in the 
counties of Perth and Stirling ; and his father was brother 
of Stewart of Invernachoil, who was actively engaged in the 
cause of Prince Charles Edward, and has been distinguished 
in the romance of Waverley as the Baron of Bradwardine. 
This daring Argyllshire chief, whom Scott represents as 
being fed in the cave by “ Davie Gellatly,” was actually 
tended in such a place of concealment by his own daughter, 
a child about ten years old. 

On receiving license, Dr Stewart soon attained popularity 
as a preacher. In 1779, being in his twenty-eighth year, he 
was ordained to the pastoral charge of the parish of Strachur, 

* The Macdougalls of Dunolly claim descent from the Scoto-Irish 
kings who reigned in Dunstaffnage. 

+ Supposed to be the first of our Christian kings. 

X Prince Charles Edward. 


312 


HIGHLAND BARDS. 


Argyllshire. He died in the manse of Strachur on the 24th 
of May 1826, in the seventy-fifth year of his age, and the 
forty-seventh of his ministry. A tombstone was erected to 
his memory in the parochial burying-ground, by the members 
of the kirk-session. Possessed of superior talents, a vast 
fund of humour, and a delightful store of traditional informa¬ 
tion, he was much cherished by a wide circle of admiring 
friends. Faithful in the discharge of the public duties of 
his office, he was distinguished among his parishioners for 
his private amenities and acts of benevolence. He was the 
author of the following song : 

LUINEAG—A LOVE CAROL. 

“No homeward scene near me, 

No comrade to cheer me, 

I cling to my dearie, 

And sigh till I marry. 

Sing ever O, and ra-ill O, 

Ra-ill O, 

Sing ever O, and ra-ill O, 

Was ever a May like my fairy ? 

“ My youth with the stranger,* 

Next on mountains a ranger, 

I pass’d—but no change, here, 

Will sever from Mary. 

“ What ringlets discover 
Their gloss thy brows over— 

* Invernahyle removed with his family to Edinburgh, and became very intimate 
with the father of Sir Walter Scott. He seems to have made a great impression on 
the future poet. 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


313 


Forget thee ! thy lover, 

Ah, first shall they bury. 

“ Thy aspect of kindness, 

Thy graces they bind us, 

And, like Feili,* remind us 
Of a heaven undreary. 

“ Than the treasures of Spain 
I would toil more to gain 
Thy love—but my pain, 

Ah, ’tis cruel, my Mary ! 

“ When the shell is o’er-flowing, 

And its dew-drops are glowing, 

No, never, thy snow on 
A slander shall tarry. 

“ When viols are playing, 

And dancers are Maying, 

My eyes may be straying. 

But my soul is with Mary. 

“ That white hand of thine 
Might I take into mine, 

Could I ever repine, 

Or from tenderness vary ? 

“No, never ! no, never ! 

My troth on’t for ever, 

Lip to lip, I’d deliver 
My being to Mary.” 

Angus Fletcher was born at Coirinti, a wild and romantic 
spot on the west bank of Loch Eck, in June 1776. His 


* Festivals and saints-days. 


314 


HIGHLAND DADDS. 


education was chiefly conducted at the parish school of 
Kilmodan, Glendaruel. From Glendaruel he went to Bute, 
in 1791, where he was variously employed till May 1804, 
when he was elected schoolmaster of Dunoon, his native 
parish. His death took place at Dunoon on the 8th August 
1852. The first of the two following songs was contributed 
anonymously to the Weekly Journal newspaper, whence it 
was transferred by Turner into his Gaelic collection. It 
soon became popular in the Highlands, and the authorship 
came to be assigned to different individuals. Fletcher after¬ 
wards announced himself as the author, and established his 
claim. He was the author of various metrical compositions 
both in Gaelic and English. 

THE CLACHAN OF GLENDARUEL. 

“ Thy wily eyes, my darling, 

Thy graces bright, my jewel, 

Have grieved me since our parting 
At the kirk of Glendaruel. 

“ ’Twas to the Kirkton wending 
Bright eyes encounter’d duty, 

And mavis’ notes were blending 
With the rosy cheeks of beauty. 

“ Oh, jimpsome is her shapely waist, 

Her arms, her instep queenly ; 

And her sweet parting lips are graced 
With rows of ivory inly. 

“ When busy tongues are railing, 

Lown is her word unsaucy, 



HIGHLAND BARDS. 


315 


And with modest grace unfailing 
She trips it o’er the causey. 

“ Should royalty prefer me, 

Preferment none I crave, 

But to live a shepherd near thee, 

On the howes of Corrichnaive. 

“ Would fortune crown my wishes— 
The sheiling of the hill, 

With my darling, and the rushes 
To couch on, were my will. 

“ I hear, but not instruction, 

Though faithful lips are pleading— 
I read thy eyes’ perfection, 

On their dew of mildness feeding. 

“ My hand is swiftly scrolling, 

In the courts of reverend men ; * 
But, ah ! my restless soul in 
Is triumphing my Jean. 

‘ ‘ I fear, I fear their frowning— 

But though they chased me over 
Where Holland’s flats + are drowning, 
I'll live and die thy lover.” 


THE LASSIE OF THE GLEN.* 

“ Beneath a hill ’mang birken bushes, 

By a burnie’s dimplit linn, 

* The poet waxes professional. He was session-clerk and clerk-depute of pres¬ 
bytery. 

4 The war was raging in Holland, under the command of the Duke of York. The 
bard threatens to exchange the pen for the sword. 

J Versified from the Gaelic original by the Author. 




316 


HIGHLAND DADDS. 


I told my love with artless blushes 
To the lassie o’ the glen. 

“ Oh ! the birken bank sae grassy, 

Hey ! the burnie’s dimplit linn ; 

Dear to me’s the bonnie lassie 
Living in yon rashy glen ! 

‘ ‘ Lanely Ruail! thy stream sae glassy 
Shall be aye my fav’rite theme, 

For on thy banks my Highland lassie 
First confess’d a mutual flame.. 

“ What bliss to sit, and nane to fash us, 

In some sweet wee bow’ry den ! 

Or fondly stray amang the rashes, 

Wi’ the lassie o’ the glen ! 

“ And though I wander now unhappy, 

Far frae scenes we haunted then, 

I’ll ne’er forget the bank sae grassy, 

Nor the lassie o’ the glen.” 

The Rev. John Macdonald, D.D., one of the most 
popular of Gaelic preachers, was born in 1778. He was 
ordained minister of the Gaelic Church, Edinburgh, in 1806, 
and was afterwards translated to the parish of Urquhart, in 
Ross-shire. While at Urquhart, he began a career of re¬ 
markable ministerial success ; though it was as a missionary, 
or visitor of other Highland districts, that he established 
his professional fame. His powerful voice is said to have 
reached and moved thousands of auditors assembled in the 
open air. A long-expected volume of Gaelic poetry, con- 




HIGHLAND BALDS. 


317 


sisting chiefly of elegies, hymns, and sacred lyrics, appeared 
from his pen in 1848. Dr Macdonald died in 1849. At 
the Disruption in 1843, he had joined the Free Church. 

THE MISSIONARY OF ST KILDA.* 

“ I see, I see the Hirta, the land of my desire, 

And the missionary spirit within me is on fire ; 

But needs it all—for, bristling from the bosom of the sea, 

Those giant crags are menacing, but welcome rude to me ; 

The eye withdraws in horror from yon mountains rude and bare, 
Where flag of green nor tree displays, nor blushes flow’ret fair. 

And how shall bark so frail as mine that beetling beach come near, 
Where rages betwixt cliff and surf the battle-din of fear ? 

It seems as, like a rocking hull, that Island of the main 
Were shaken from its basement, and creaking with the strain ! 

But the siege of waters nought prevails ’gainst giant Hirt the grim, 
Save his face to furrow with some scars, or his brow with mist to dim. 
Oh, needs a welcome to that shore, for well my thought might say, 
’Twere better than that brow to face that I were leagues away. 

But no, not so ! what fears should daunt,—for what welcomes e’er 
outran 

The welcome that I bring with me, my call from God and man ? 

Nor vain my trust! my helmsman, He who sent me, now is steering, 
And, by His power, the wave-worn craft the shore in calm is nearing, 
And scarce my foot was on the beach when two hundred echoes spake 
Their welcome, and a hundred hands flew forth my hand to take. 

* And he, believe me, has his best protection by his side 
Who bears the call of God and man, from the reef, the crag, the tide ; 

* The descriptive portion of a sacred lyric composed by Dr Macdonald on the 
occasion of his first visit to St Kilda, often called The Hirt, or Hirta, after the 
Gaelic. His missionary enterprise was attended with success. 


4 






318 


HIGHLAND BALDS. 


And, for welcome on the shore, give me the flashing eyes that glow d, 

When I told the men of Hirt the news I brought them from their 
God ! ” 

Duncan Kennedy was born in the parish of Glassary, 
Argyllshire, about the year 1758. In his youth he enjoyed 
the advantage of attending the parish school, which was 
then conducted by an able classical scholar. At an early 
age he was qualified to become an instructor of youth in a 
remote part of his native parish, and there he had frequent 
opportunities of becoming acquainted with “ Iain Ban Maor ” 
the Gaelic poet, and enjoyed the privilege of listening to 
the eminent Daniel Campbell and other pious ministers in 
the surrounding parishes. He was promoted to the parish 
school of Kilmelford about the year 1784, and soon there¬ 
after published his collection of “Hymns and Spiritual 
Songs.” During his summer vacations he travelled over 
the districts of Kintyre, Argyll, and Lorn, in search of 
legends concerning the Fingalians, and was successful in 
collecting a mass of information, which in Gaelic verse he 
styled “Sean dana.” The MS. of his researches he entrusted 
to the perusal of a neighbouring clergyman, from whom he 
was never able to recover it, a circumstance which led him 
afterwards to inveigh against the clerical order. From 
Kilmelford parish school, Kennedy in 1790 removed to 
Glasgow, where he was engaged, first as an accountant, and 
afterwards in mercantile pursuits. At one period he realised 
about ^10,000, but he was latterly unfortunate. He died 




HIGHLAND BALDS. 


319 


at Glasgow in 1836. His composition entitled “ The Return 
of Peace,” is a favourite specimen of his powers. 

“ With a breezy burst of singing 
Blow we out the flames of rage ! 

Europe’s peace, through Europe ringing, 

Is, of peace, our lifetime pledge. 

Faldar, aldar, aldar, ari, 

Faldar, aldai-, aldar, e’ ; 

Faldar, aldar, aldar, ari, 

Faldar, ari, faldar, e’. 

“ Every musket to the guard-house, 

And its lead to furlough send— 

To the tilling of the meadows 
Every gallant bayonet bend. 

“ See, a lusty fleet is steering 

Homewards, to the shore of peace ; 

And brave hearts, a host, are nearing 
To the expectant dear’s embrace. 

“ See the kilted Highlander 

As from Egypt’s battles come— 

Westlander and Norlander, 

Eager for the sight of home. 

“ Seven years orphan’d of their fathers, 

Shelterless and sad no more, 

Quite a little army gathers, 

Shouting welcomes from the shore. 

“ All the echoes are in motion, 

All the sheilings ring with glee, 





320 


HIGHLAND DADDS. 


Since, of peace, the paths of ocean 
Gi ve the news a passage free. 

‘ ‘ The birds the dash of oars was scaring— 
Hush’d their note, but soon they raise, 
To their wonted branch repairing, 
Sweetest numbers on the sprays. 

“ Seem the woods to dance a measure, 
Nodding as the notes inspire— 

And their branches, as with pleasure, 
Add their music to the choir. 

“Of the streamlet, every murmur 
Sweetly swells the song of peace, 
Chanting, with each vocal charmer, 

Joys that bloom and wars that cease.” 




Abercorn, James, seventh Earl 
of, 28. 

Adventure, Spirit of, 25. 

“Age, Song of,” 272. 

Airlie, fifth Earl of, 56. 

Aitchison, Elliot, Poet, 232. 

Aiton, Dr John, 170. 

Alison, Sir Archibald, Bart., 135, 

I 4 S- 

Anderson, John, Two students so 
named, 35. 

Anderson, Rev. John, described in 
verse, 35. 

Anderson, Dr Robert, 112. 
Anderson, Rev. T. G. Torry, 236. 
Appellatives, Peculiar, xxii. 

“ Araby Maid,” Song of, 236. 
Argyll, Duke of, 129. 

Armour, Jean, 193. 

Auchinleck, Lord, xiii. 

Aytoun, Professor, 151-157. 

Bald, Alexander, 237. 

Bald, Robert, 237. 

Ball at St Andrews, 74. 

Ballingal, Sir George, 161. 

Banks, William, 206. 

Barclay, Rev. George, Anecdote of, 

3 8 - 

Beadles, Anecdotes of, 21, 22. 
Beattie, Dr James, 54. 

Begg, Mrs, Recollections by, 184, 
193 - 

Belhaven, Anecdote of a late Lord, 
19 - 


Bell, The Rev. Dr Andrew, Story 
of, 38. 

Bell, Dr Patrick, 171. 

Bell, Rev. William, his tombstone 
inscription, 18. 

“ Bendourain,” Poem of, 262. 
Birnie, Rev. Mr, Humour of, 3. 

“ Bobby,” Greyfriars’ Dog, xxiv. 
Bogles, Dread of, 33. 

Boswell, Sir Alexander, Bart., 30. 
Boswell, James, 55. 

Boswell, James, xiii. 

Boyd, Mr Mark, xiv-xvi. 

Braes of Angus, A story from the, 

3 2 - 

Brewster, Sir David, 106, 109, 

132. 

Brigandage, Story relating to, 153. 
Brisbane, Rev. Thomas, Epitaph 
by, 18. 

Brougham, Lord, 147. 

Brown, Professor James, 66-68. 
Brown, Principal, 52, 113. 

Brown, Professor William, 51. 
Browne, James, LL. D., 90. 

Bruce, Rev. Robert, 1. 

Brun, The Highland Bard, 309. 
Buchanan, Dougal, 256. 

Buchanan, Dr Claudius, 77. 
Buchanan, George, 113. 

Buchanan, Dr Thomas, iii. 
Buccleuch, A late Duke of, 19. 
Burd, Canon, 202-204. 

Burn, Rev. James, Story of, 50. 
Burke, A lecture on, 103. 











322 


INDEX. 


Buchan, eleventh Earl of, 109. 

“ Burnin' a waiter,” xix. 

Burns, Robert, 83, 103, 147, 185. 
Burns, Robert, junior, 187. 

Burns, The Colonels, 188. 

Burns and the Nobleman, 191. 
Bursars at St Andrews, 45. 

“ Caberfae,” Song of, 275. 
Campbell, Janet, 243. 

Campbell, John, Ridicule of Dr 
Johnson by, 46. 

Campbell, Lord, 103. 

Campbell, Principal, 53. 

Campbell, Thomas, 162. 

Campbell, Rev. William, Humour 
of, 4. 

Canine Sagacity, xxiii. 

Cant, George, 91. 

Carlisle, Alexander, 220. 
Carruthers, Robert, LL. D., 129. 
Chalmers, Dr Thomas, 70, 77, 
104. 

Chambers, Dr Robert, 182-184. 
Charles Edward, Prince, 56. 

Cheap sale, Advertisement of, 31. 
Children, Anecdotes of, 33-34. 
Church, Interruption in, 23. 

Clark, Rev. John, Story of, 4. 
Cockburn, Henry, 78. 

Consort, The Prince, 150. 
Constable, Archibald, 80. 

Cook, Dr George, 103, 126. 

Cooke, Dr Henry, of Belfast, 175, 
179 - 

Convener of Trades, A, 54. 
Cortachy, Parish of, 51-56. 

Countess A-and the housewife, 

37 - 

Coupar Angus, Adventure in church 
of, 24. 

Cowal, The three bards of, 309. 
Cowper, The Rev. William, and the 
old woman, 37. 

Crappit heads for supper, Story of, 
17 - 

Crofter, The aged, 36. 


Culloden, Battle of, 56. 

127. 

Culloden, Day of, 292. 

Cumberland, Duke of, 5 2 - 
Cunningham, Allan, 210. 
Cunningham, Peter, 210. 
Cunningham, Thomas M. 211. 
Cupples, Rev. George, Repartee 
of, 6. 

Curiosity, Anecdote of female, 2. 

Dallas, Mrs, cousin of Tames Bos¬ 
well, 55. 

Davidson, Rev. Mr, his Sunday 
shaving, 24. 

Dempster, George, of Dunnichen, 

4 L 57 , 65, 93. 

Detractor, A, 208. 

Dick, Dr Thomas, 114-118. 

Dog, A pet, 20. 

Doggedness, Scottish, xix. 

Dogs, Anecdotes of, xxiii. 

Dominie, Origin of the word, 25. 
Donn, Rob, 246, 249. 

Douglas, Alexander, W. S., Anec¬ 
dotes of, 28. 

Downshire, Marquis of, 202. 
Drummond, Peter, Beadle of St 
Monance, anecdotes of, 21. 
Duelling, Law of, 30. 

Duncan, Rev. Thomas T., 188. 
Dunfermline, Anecdote of a youth 
at, 36. 

Dunfermline, Dissenting minister 
at, 24. 

Dunino, Church living of, 41, 64, 
65, 74, 76, 81, 91. 

Dunlop, Rev. Walter, 105. 

Dunolly, The Sisters of, 310. 

Edward, Prince Charles, 292- 
3II- 

Elgin, eighth Earl of, 131-136. 
Erskine, Rev. Ebenezer, Story of, 
2. 

Erskine, Hon. Henry, Epigram 
by, 29. 





INDEX. 


323 


Erskine, Miss, 201. 

Ettrick Shepherd, 108, 156, 162, 
212, 218. 

Farmer, Council by a, 32. 
Females, Scottish, 37. 

Ferguson, Sir Adam, 202, 216. 
Fergusson, Robert, the Poet, 46, 

112. 

Fergusson, Sir William, 119. 
Ferrier, Professor J. F., 159, 160. 
Ferrier, Miss S. E., 158. 

Fifeshire minister exchanging pul¬ 
pits, xx. 

Fiorin Grass, 60. 

Fisheries, Scottish, 57. 

Fleming, Rev. Dr John, 85. 
Fletcher, Angus, 313. 

Flockhart, Anecdote of Robert, 
xviii. 

Forbes, Sir William, 55. 

Fox, Charles, Recollections of, 
42. 

Furlong, Rev. James, Incident at 
the Ordination of, 17. 

“Gadie Rins,” Song of, 221. 
Galt, Rev. James, Anecdote of, 3. 
Gardenstone, Lord, 55. 

General Assembly, Pleading in the, 

79 - 

Geologist, A, reproved, 38. 

Gerard, Rev. Dr Alexander, 53. 
Gibson, John, W.S., 209. 

Gillies, the Rev. Mr, Anecdotes of, 

21. 

Gillespie, Dr Thomas, 85, 98. 
Glendaruel the Clachan of, 314. 
Glen, William, 195. 

Gordon, Duke of, 10. 

Gordon, Sheriff J. T., 145, 151. 
Government, Essay on, 41. 

Gow, Neil, 198. 

Gracie, James, banker, 191. 

Grant, Saunders, Story of, 22. 
Gray, Captain Charles, 96. 

Gray, James, 215. 


Gray and Turnbull, Case of, 29. 

Hairdresser, Story of a, 59. 
Haldane, Principal, 89, 109. 
Haliburtons of Newmains, 200. 
Halliday, Story of Janet, 38 
Hamilton, Alexander, tenth Duke 
of, 27. 

Hamilton, Anne, Duchess of, 6. 
Harlaw, Battle of, 242. 

Hay, Sir John, Bart., Anecdotes of, 
xxiii. 

Heriot and the Countryman, 27. 
Heriot, Story of Mr, 26. 

Highland Bards, 240. 

Highlander’s Home-sickness, Song 
of, 254. 

Hill, Dr Henry David, 66, 67. 

Hill, Principal, 47, 49, 50, 53, 73, 
105. 

Hogg, James, 108, 156, 162, 212, 
218. 

Hogg, Mrs, Recollections by, 205, 
214, 217. 

Hogg, Robert, 215. 

Home, John, author of Douglas, 

79 - 

Hunter, Alexander Gibson, 81. 
Hunter, Dr John, of St Andrews, 
47 , 99 , 113 - 

Hunter, John, LL.D. of Craigcrook, 
238. 

Hunter, Dr James, 66, 69. 

Hunter, Rev. John, Speech in the 
General Assembly, 17. 

“Ill wintered,” A Minister, 32. 

“ I’m an Infidel,” 58. 

Innes, Rev. Robert, Story of, xxi. 
Innovations, Ecclesiastical, 169. 
Iona, Visit to, xv. 

Irish Gentleman, Story of, xvii. 
Irving, Dr David, no, 114. 

James, Rev. Mr, Anecdote of, 3. 
James VI., 2. 

Jamieson, Rev. Dr John, 85. 





324 


INDEX. 


Jeffrey, Francis, 77, 79, 95. 
Jerdan, William, 98. 

Johnson, Dr Samuel, xiii., 44, 55 - 
Junius, Anecdote relating to, 60. 


“Kelvin Grove,” song of, 219. 
Kennedy, Duncan, 318. 

Kilmany, Dr Chalmers, 7 °‘ 77 - 
Kincardineshire, Farmer in, 32. 
Kinnoul, Earl of, 40. 

Kinross, Minister’s man at, 23. 
“Kiss my dochter too, sir,” 60. 


Laing, Alexander, poet, 230. 
Laird, who so styled, 25. 
Landlords, Niggardly, xvii. 
Landowner, A surly, 125. 

Lassie of the Glen, 315. 

Lee, Dr Robert, 167-170. 

Lee, Principal, 86-89. 

Lee, Principal, Anecdote of, xxi. 
Leslie, Rev. William, curious cer¬ 
tificates by, 9-17. 

Leslie, Rev. William, his pulpit 
habits, 9-17. 

Leyden, Andi'ew, 236. 

Leyden, Dr John, 236. 

“Light, The New,” 38. 

Lincoln, President, 149. 

Lintrathen, Minister’s man at, 21. 
“Lion of Macdonald,” Poem of, 
282. 

Litigation, Scottish love of, 29. 
Liturgy, A modified, 169. 
Livingstone, Mr David, 117. 
Lochleven, Vale of, 124. 

Lockhart, J. G., 81, 202. 

Lookup, Rev. John, short stature 

of, 5. 

“ Lords of Labour,” Song of, 
226. 

Luineag, Song of, 312. 

Lunan and Vinney Farming Society, 
58 . 

Lyall, Mr, of Kinnordy, 36. 

Lyle, Thomas, 219. 

Lyon, Mrs Agnes, 198. 


Macaulay, Sir Aulay, Rhyme con¬ 
cerning, 35. 

MacCodrum, 272. 

Macdonald, Alexander, 248. 
Macdonald, Alexander, Highland 
Bard, 281. 

Macdonald, Donald, four soldiers 
so named, 35. 

Macdonald, Hugh, poet, 222. 
Macdonald, Rev. John, D.D., 316. 
Macdonald, Ronald, Anecdote of, 
25 - 

Macfarlane, James, poet, 223-227. 
Macintyre, Duncan, 261. 

Maclcay, Robert, 246-249. 
Mackenzie, Story of, xxii. 
Mackintosh, Lament for, 292. 
Maclachlan, Evan, 304. 

Macleod, Norman, Poet, 274. 
MacNab, Laird of, 155. 
Macpherson, Cluny, 132. 
Macpherson, James, 298-301. 
Macpherson, James, M. P., 60, 
240. 

Macvurich, Lachlan, 298. 

M‘Culloch of Ardwell, 189. 
M‘Culloch, Rev. Michael, Indepen¬ 
dence of, 18. 

M‘Dowall, Mr W., 187. 

M‘Kie, Rev. Nathaniel, familiar 
mode of expounding Scripture, 
8 . 

M ‘Laggan, James, 300. 

M'Laggan, Rev. Dr, 302. 

M‘Vicar, Rev. Neil, Story of, 8. 
Magistrate and Toll-girl, xvi. 
Marjorie, Pet, 206. 

Martin, Theodore, 155. 

Martyrs, Scottish, 103. 

Masterton, Allan, 83, 191. 

Mavis of the Clan, Song of, 306. 
May, The Highland, 296. 

Meikle, Dr, Reproof by, 29. 
Melvill, Canon, 179-182. 

Melville, Rev. Andrew, Anecdote 
of, 7. 

Melville, Lord, 53. 



INDEX. 


325 


Miller, Captain, of Dalswinton, 
192. 

Miller, Hugh, 128, 131, 212. 
Miner, Story of a, 24. 

Miser, An elderly, 124. 

Missionary of St Kilda, 317. 

Moir, Professor George, 160. 
Monboddo, Lord, 48. 

Moncreiff, Rev. Alexander, Anec¬ 
dote of, 22. 

Moncreiff, Rev. Sir Henry, Bart., 
Retort to, 6, 85. 

Money, Art of procuring, 123. 
“Morag, Praise of,” 285. 

More, Rev. George, Story of, 4. 
More, Professor Shank, 207. 
Motherwell, William, 218. 
Musomanik Society, 91-96. 

Nairne, Baroness, 195, 198. 
National Resources, Dr Chalmers’ 
work on, 76. 

Neil, Gabriel, 195. 

Nicoll, Principal, 207. 

Nicoll, Walter, Anecdote of, 167. 
Nicolson, Bishop W., 203. 
Nicolson, Mr, Anecdote of, 33. 
Nodes A mbrosiance , 217. 

Northern Landowner and his Hind, 
xx. 

O ‘Connell, Daniel, 177. 
Octogenarian Minister and his 
Beadle, xviii. 

Oliphant, Lord, 196. 

Ossian, 301 ; Anecdote relating to, 
60. 


Pagan, William, of Clayton, 211. 
Palmerston, Lord, 116, 133, 217. 
Panmure, Lord, 193. 

Park, Andrew, poet, 222. 

Park, John, D.D., 221. 

Patronage, Story relating to, 104. 
Patronymics, how distinguished, 

34 - 

Pillans, Professor, 162. 


Pinkerton, John, 60. 

Playfair, Colonel Sir Hugh Lyon, 
LL.D., 67. 

Playfair, Principal James, 62-66. 
Playfair, Professor John, 43, 62. 
Playfair, Dr Lyon, LL.D., C.B., 
67. 

Playfair, Colonel Wm. Davidson, 

66 . 

Playfair, William, 62. 

Preaching, Scottish, xvii. 

Presage, Remarkable, 84. 

Pulpit, Anecdote of the, 69. 

Railin’ in the deil, 102. 

Ramsay, Dean, iv., 210. 

Reaping Machine, Invention of, 

171 - 

Reformation, First and Second, 
xiv. 

Regiment of the Isles, Anecdote of 
the, 35. 

Reid, Dr John, 118-122. 

Reid, Rev. Matthew, Expressions 
in prayer of, 7. 

“ Return of Peace,” 319. 

Riddell, Henry Scott, 235. 

Ritchie, Dr John, Anecdote of, 36- 
177. 

Roadside adventure, 5 - 
“ Roaring Willie,” 5. 

Robertson, Old Francy, 99. 
Robertson, Principal, 50. 
Robertson, Professor James, 122- 
128. 

Robertson, Rev. John, D.D., 164, 
167, 219, 226. 

Robertson, Patrick Lord, Anecdotes 
of, 28. 

Robinson, Captain, xiv. 

Robinson, Henry Crabbe, xiv. 
Roger, Rev. James, Recollections 

by, 40, 97 , I0 7 - 

Ross, Mary, 296. 

Ross, William, 295. 

Russell, Rev. William, and his 
doctrine, 20. 







326 


INDEX. 


Russell, Rev. William, Mode of 
prayer, 7. 

Rutherford, Robert, W.S., 200. 

Schoolmaster, Anecdotes of a, 

101. 

Scott, General, Anecdote of, 49. 
Scott, George, the Sexton, xviii. 
Scott, Dr Hew, iv., 57. 

Scott, Lady, 200-205. 

Scott, Sir Walter, 80, 82, 83, 93, 

199, 218, 245, 248. 

Scott, William, of Teviot Bank, 

200. 

Scottish Literary Institute, 117. 
Scottish monasteries, Remarks re¬ 
lating to, 88. 

Scottish Shepherds and their Dogs, 
xxiii. 

Scottish youth, Smartness of, 34. 
Seanachies, Highland, 240. 
Secession Church, Elder of, xviii. 
Shaving, Anecdotes of, xiv. 
Shaving, Dr Chalmers on, 71. 
Shoes and Stockings unworn, xvi. 
Shorter Catechism, Knowledge of, 
33 - 

Signboards, Scottish, 31. 

Simpson, Sir James Young, Bart., 

I 72 -I 75 - 

Sinclair, Sir John, 57. 

Sisters, The litigious, 28. 

Skull, Song of the, 257. 

Skye, Statistics of, 26. 

Smith, Alexander, author of “Life 
Drama,” 227-230. 

Smith, Sydney, xiii. 

Song of Royal Highland Regiment, 
302. 

Spark, Rev. Mr, Anecdote of, 7. 
Speech by Dr Chalmers, 74. 

St Andrews, Recollections of, 45. 
Stewart, Rev. Dr, 311. 

Stewart, Rev. James, 302. 

Stewart, a veteran, 89. 

Stewart, Miss Williamina, 201. 
Stipends, Augmentation of, 71. 


Stirling, Improvements at, 161. 
Stirling, Rev. Luke, assault on, 
20. 

Stirling, Sheriff Court of, 30. 

Stone, Jerome, 241. 

Strachan, Sir James, Rhyme about, 

35 - 

Strang, Dr John, 163. 

Strathmassie, Song of, 298. 
Strathmore, Noble family of, 66. 
Stuart, James, of Dunearn, Pas¬ 
quinade by, 31. 

Stuart, John Roy, 291. 

Sub-Ossianic Poetry, 242. 

Sunday, Observance of, xiv. 

Tailor, Story of a, 24. 

Tait, William, 215. 

“Tak’ afif your shae,” 36. 

Tannahill, Matthew, 194. 

Tannahill, Robert, 194. 

Taylor, Rev. Dr William, Story of, 
19. 

Telfer, James, Poet, 234. 

Tennant, Professor William, 91. 
Text forgotten, 69. 

Thom, Rev. William, Odd habits 
of, 17. 

Thomson, Rev. William, LL.D., 
63 - 

Tidiness, Domestic, xvi. 

Titles, Love of, 25. 

Toothache, Story of the, 102. 
Trader, A Scottish, and the Physi¬ 
cian, xxi. 

Tweeddale, Marquis of, 26. 

Two maiden aunts, 100. 

Valet, Story of a, 61. 

“ Vespasian, My dear,” 28. 
“Vindication of Scottish Rights,” 
152 - 

Volunteers, Dr Chalmers and the, 
75 - 

“ Wae’s me for Prince Charlie,” 
195 - 



INDEX. 


32 


Wallace Monument, 131, 135, 137, 
140, 220. 

Wallace, Sir J. Maxwell, 138, 192. 
Waverley Anecdote, 214, 
Wellington, Duke of, 26. 

Widow’s mite, Story of, 36. 
Whisky, Dr Chalmers on, 72. 
Wilson, Dr George, 121. 


Wilson, Rev. James, reproved, 3. 
Wilson, Professor John, 150-157. 
Winter, Song of, 251. 

Woodfall, the Publisher, 60. 

Younger, John, Poet, 232. 

Zeal, Scottish, xiv. 



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‘ This cheap edition of Hugh Miller’s works deserves, and will doubtless secure, 
a very extended public support. No one knew better than Hugh Miller how to 
combine amusement with instruction; and all his works exhibit this most im¬ 
portant combination.’— Public Opinion. 

‘The works of Hugh Miller cannot be too widely known or studied; and the 
publisher deserves our thanks for his cheap re-issue of them.’— The Standard. 

‘A new cheap issue of Hugh Miller’s admirable works will be hailed with 
pleasure by all who desire to possess a really valuable collection of books.’— The 
Observer. 















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HUGH MILLER’S WORKS. 

CHEAP POPULAR EDITIONS, 

In crown 8vo, cloth extra , price 5 s. each. 

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My Schools and Schoolmasters ; or, The 

Story of my Education. 

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memory for the sake of the manly career narrated, and the glances at old- 
world manners and distant scenes afforded us by the way.’— Athenaeum. 

II. 

Thirty-fourth Thousand. 

The Testimony of the Rocks; or, Geology 

in its Bearings on the Two Theologies, Natural and Revealed. 
Profusely Illustrated. 

‘ The most remarkable work of perhaps the most remarkable man of 
? the age. ... A magnificent epic, and the Principia of Geology.’— 
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r 




hi. 

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4 The Cruise of the Betsey; or, A Summer 

Ramble among the Fossiliferous Deposits of the Hebrides. 
With Rambles of a Geologist; or, Ten Thousand Miles over 
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IV. 

J Sketch-Book of Popular Geology. 

I v. 

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First Impressions of England and its People. 

‘ This is precisely the kind of book we should have looked for from 
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Scenes and Legends of the North of Scotland ; 

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The Old Red Sandstone; or, New Walks in 

an Old Field. Profusely Illustrated. 

yiii. 

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The Headship of Christ and the Rights of 

the Christian People. With Preface by Peter Bayne, A.M. 

ix. 

Tenth Edition. 

Footprints of the Creator; or, The Asterolepis ; 

of Stromness. With Preface and Notes by Mrs. Miller, and a i 
Biographical Sketch by Professor Agassiz. Profusely Illustrated. 

x. 

Third Edition. 

Tales and Sketches. Edited, with a Preface, 

by Mrs. Miller. 

xi. 

Third Edition. 

Essays: Historical and Biographical, Political 

and Social, Literary and Scientific. 

XII. 

Second Edition. 

Edinburgh and its Neighbourhood, Geological ( 

and Historical. With the Geology of the Bass Rock. 

xiii. 

Leading Articles on Various Subjects. Edited 

by his Son-in-law, the Rev. John Davidson. With a Charac¬ 
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THE PEOPLE’S EDITION OF 

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COMPLETION OF THE COPYRIGHT EDITION OF 

W I L S 0 N’S 

TALES OF THE BORDERS. 

Edited by ALEXANDER LEIGHTON, 

One of the Original Editors and Contributors. 

In announcing the completion of the Copyright Edition of the Bor¬ 
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in recommendation of a work which has stood the test of a general com¬ 
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Equally suited to all classes of readers, it has been received with delight 
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of the family. 

The new Edition is comprised in Twenty-four Volumes, sewed in 
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NATURE-STUDY, 

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Just published, cloth extra, gilt edges, profusely illustrated, 

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interest by those who have arrived at full age, and with much mental profit by 
those who are in their nonage .’—The Lincoln Mercury. 

‘Mr. Hope has already written several excellent stories of schoolboy life; but 
this story of “Whitminster Grammar School ” excels anything he has yet done.’ 
—The North British Mail. 


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BEING THE REFLECTIONS AND RECOLLECTIONS OF A MEMBER 

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Third Edition, crown 8vo, cloth extra, 3 s. 6d., 

A BOOK ABOUT BOYS. 

By ASCOTT R. HOPE, Author of ‘A Book about Dominies,’ etc. 

‘ This volume is full of knowledge, both useful and entertaining, in the truest 
sense of the words, and it is impossible to put it down without a feeling of per¬ 
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much and criticised too little, we can only say there is something about the book 
which disarms one’s critical faculty, and appeals to them to judge for themselves. 
We should like to see it in the hands of every parent and schoolmaster in England.’ 
—Saturday Review. 


Third Edition, just published, in crown 8vo, elegantly bound 
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STORIES OF SCHOOL LIFE. 

By ASCOTT R. HOPE, Author of 
‘ A Book about Boys,’ ‘ A Book about Dominies,’ etc. etc. 

‘ A book more thoroughly adapted to boys cannot be found.’— The Globe. 












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POPULAKi WORKS BY ASOOTT R. HOPE— continued. 

In crown 8vo, cloth extra, price 6s., 

TEXTS FROM THE TIMES. 

By ASCOTT B. HOPE, 

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etc. etc. 


In crown 8vo, elegantly bound, and profusely Illustrated by 
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STORIES ABOUT BOYS. 

By ASOOTT R. HOPE, 

Author of ‘ Stories of School Life,’ ‘ My Schoolboy Friends,’ 

etc. etc. 


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NtMMO'S SELECT LIBRARY. 

- o - 

I. 

Almost Faultless: A Story of the Present Day. By the 

Author of ‘ A Book for Governesses.’ 

H. 

Before the Conquest; or, English Worthies in the Olden 

Time. By W. H. Davenport Adams. 

ih. 

Every-Day Objects; or, Picturesque Aspects of Natural 

History. By W. H. Davenport Adams. 

V OTHER VOLUMES UNIFORM IN PROGRESS. 

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NIMMO’S 

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SHAKESPEARE’S COM¬ 
PLETE WORKS. With 
a Biographical Sketch by 
Mary 0. Clarke, a Copious 
Glossary, and numerous Il¬ 
lustrations. 

BURKS’S COMPLETE 

POETICAL and PROSE 
WORKS. With Life and 
Variorum Notes. Illustrated, 
in. 

GOLDSMITH’S MISCEL¬ 

LANEOUS WORKS. 

BYRON’S ^POETICAL 

WORKS. Elustrated by 
eminent Artists. 

JOSEPHUS^ The Whole 

Works of Flavius Josephus, 
the Jewish Historian. Trans¬ 
lated by Whiston. 

THE ARABIAN NIGHTS’ 

ENTERTAINMENTS. 
Translated from the Arabic. 
An entirely New Edition. 

vn. 

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fully selected, with Life of the 
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authentic Notes. 

I___ 


vm. 

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fully selected from the most 
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of the Author. 

SMOLLETT’S WORKS. 

Carefully selected from the 
most authentic sources; with 
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CANTERBURY TALES 

AND FAERIE QUEEN, 
with other Poems of Chaucer 
and Spenser. Edited for 
Popular Perusal, with current 
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Notes. 

THE WORKS OF THE 

BRITISH DRAMATISTS. 
Carefully selected from the 
original editions, with copious 
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Historical Introduction, etc. 
etc. Edited by J. S. Keltie, 
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etc. 

XII. 

THE SCOTTISH MIN- 

STBEL: The Songs and 
Song Writers of Scotland 
subsequent to Burns. With 
Biographies, etc. etc. By the 
Rev. Chas. Rogers, LL.D. 











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PRICE ONE SHILLING EACH. 

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A Handy Outline of Geology. With numerous Illustrations. Third 
Edition. By David Page, LL.D., F.R.S.E., F.G.S., Author of 
‘Text-Books of Geology and Physical Geography,’ etc. 

II. 

POULTRY AS A MEAT SUPPLY: 

Being Hints to Henwives how to Bear and Manage Poultry Economi¬ 
cally and Profitably. Fourth Edition. By the Author of ‘The 
Poultry Kalendar.’ 

III. 

HOW TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL 

ENGINEER: 

Being Hints to Youths intending to adopt the Profession. Third 
Edition. By Bernard Stuart, Engineer. 

IV. 

RATIONAL COOKERY: 

Cookery made Practical and Economical, in connection with the 
Chemistry of Food. Fifth Edition. By Hartelaw Reid. 

V. 

DOMESTIC MEDICINE: 

Plain and Brief Directions for the Treatment requisite before Advice 
can be obtained. Second Edition. By Offley Bohun Shore, 
Doctor of Medicine of the University of Edinburgh, etc. etc. etc. 

VI. 

DOMESTIC MANAGEMENT: 

Hints on the Training and Treatment of Children and Servants. 
By Mrs. Charles Doig. 

VII. 

FREE-HAND DRAWING: 

A Guide to Ornamental, Figure, and Landscape Drawing. By an 
Art Student, Author of ‘ Ornamental and Figure Drawing.’ 
Profusely Illustrated. 

VIII. 

THE METALS USED IN CONSTRUCTION: 

Iron, Steel, Bessemer Metal, etc. etc. By Francis Herbert Joynson. 
Illustrated. 

Other Volumes in Preparation. 









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Crown 4 to, beautifully printed on the finest toned paper, and elegantly 
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A HANDSOME DR A WING-ROOM EDITION OF 

THE POEMS AND SONGS 

OF 


ROBERT BURNS. 


WITH ORIGINAL ILL VSTRA TIONS BY 


E. Herdman, E.S.A. 
Waller H. Paton, R.S.A. 
Gourlay Steell, E.S.A. 
D. 0 . Hill, E.S.A. 

Clark Stanton, A.E.S.A. 
J. M‘Whirter, A.E.S.A. 
G. Hay. 

W. F. Vallance. 


J. B. Macdonald, A.E.S.A. 
Sam. Bough, A.E.S.A. 

W. M‘Taggart, A.E.S.A. 
J. Cassie. 

J. 0. Brown. 

J. Lawson. 

C. A. Doyle. 

E. J. Douglas. 


Mrs. D. O. Hill. 


And other distinguished Scottish Artists. 

The Engraving of the Illustrations is executed by Mr. E. Paterson ; 
and the volume is Printed by Mr. E. Clark, Edinburgh. 






‘ The arts of the printer and engraver show to advantage in this 
Scotch edition of the Poems and Songs of Burns. The Artists who 
supply the Illustrations are all of the land of Burns, and the book owes 
nothing to handicraftsmen on this side the Tweed. Many of the 
engravings are excellent, particularly the landscape sketches. Alto¬ 
gether the book is a handsome one, and to the “ Scot abroad” it would 
be difficult to make a more acceptable present .’—The Times. 

‘ Of all the handsome reprints of the works of “nature’s own” bard, 
this “ Edina ” edition of the Poems and Songs of Burns is perhaps the 
handsomest yet produced. Beautifully printed, and profusely illus¬ 
trated by some of the most distinguished of the Scotch academicians, 
it forms a shrine worthy of the genius of the “ poet of the land of the 
mountain and the flood.” It is, as might be expected, Scottish in 
every respect,—printer, publisher, and illustrators; and as also we 
think it should; for with whom could it be so much a labour of love 
to produce a first-rate edition as with one of Burns’s own countrymen? 
and who should be better able to illustrate the “brown heath and 
shaggy wood” of Scotia’s scenery than her own sons? ’—The Examiner. 

















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SWORD AND PEN; or, English Worthies in the Reign 

of Elizabeth. By Walter Clinton. 

II. 

NORRIE SETON ; or, Driven to Sea. By Mrs. George 

Cupples, Author of ‘ Unexpected Pleasures,’ etc. 

III. 

THE CIRCLE OF THE YEAR; or, Studies of Nature 

and Pictures of the Seasons. By W. H. Davenport Adams. 

IV. 

THE WEALTH OF NATURE : Our Food Supplies from 

the Vegetable Kingdom. By the Rev. John Montgomery, A.M. 

V. 

STORIES OF SCHOOL LIFE. By Ascott R. Hope. 

VI. 

THE BATTLE HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. Tales of 

Chivalry and Adventure. By Charles Alfred Maxwell. 

VII. 

THE SEA KINGS OF ORKNEY. And other Historical 

Tales. By the same Author. 

VIII. 

ENGLISH AND SCOTTISH CHIVALRY. Tales from 

Authentic Chronicles and Histories. By the same Author. 

IX. 

THE WARS OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. Histori¬ 

cal Tales of Bravery and Heroism. By the samo Author. 












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colours, price 3s. 6d. each; or in morocco extra, illuminated, price 6s. 6d. 
each; or morocco extra, novel prismatic effect with silk centre, entirely new 
design, price 7s. 6d. each. Each Volume contains a Memoir, and is illustrated 
with a Portrait of the Author engraved on steel, and numerous full-page 
Illustrations on Wood, from designs by eminent Artists. 


I. 

Longfellow’s Poetical Works. 

n. 

Scott’s Poetical Works. 

m. 

Byron’s Poetical Works, 

rv. 

Moore’s Poetical Works, 

v. 

Wordsworth’s Poetical Works. 

VI. 

Oowper’s Poetical Works. 

VII. 

Milton’s Poetical Works. 


XII. 

The Gasquet of Gems. 

xin. 

The Book of Humorous 
Poetry. 

XIV. 

Ballads: Scottish and 
English. 

XV. 

The Complete Works of 
Shakespeare. 2 vols. 

XVI. 

The Arabian Eights’ 
Entertainments. 2 vols. 


VIII. 

Thomson’s Poetical Works. 

IX. 

Beattie and Goldsmith’s 
Poetical Works. 

X. 

Pope’s Poetical Works. 

XI. 

Burns’s Poetical Works. 


XVII. 

Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress 
and Holy War, 

XVIII. 

Lives of the British 
Poets. 

XIX. 

The Prose Works of 
Robert Burns. 










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15 


Now Issued, in Elegant New Binding, Cloth and Gold, 
SUITABLE FOR PRESENTATION, 

Popular Works by the Author of ‘ Heaven our Home.’ 

Aggregate sale of the following popular works , 157,000 copies. 

I. 

Crown 8vo, cloth antique, One Hundredth Thousand, price 3s. 6d., 

HEAVEN OUR HOME. 

A Cheap Edition of ‘ Heaven our Home,’ 

In crown 8vo, cloth limp, price Is. 6d., is also published. 

T" 

Crown 8vo, cloth antique, Twenty-ninth Thousand, price 3s. 6d., 

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A Cheap Edition of * Meet for Heaven,’ 

In crown 8vo, cloth limp, price Is. 6d., is also published. 

I III. 

Crown 8vo, cloth antique, Twenty-first Thousand, price 3s. 6d., 

LIFE I N HEAVEN. 

There, Faith is changed into Sight, and Hope is passed into 

blissful Fruition. 

— — 

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In crown 8vo, cloth limp, price Is. 6d., is also published. 

IV. 

Crown 8vo, cloth antique, Seventh Thousand, price 3s. Gd., 

| CHRIST'S TRANSFIGURATION; 

Or, Tabor’s Teachings. 


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Eupert Rochester, the Banker’s Son. A Tale. By Winifred 

Taylor, Author of ‘Story of Two Lives,’ etc. 

n. 

The Story of Two Lives; or, The Trials of Wealth and 

Poverty. By Winifred Taylor, Author of ‘ Rupert Rochester,’ 
etc. 

in. 

The Lost lather ; or, Cecilia’s Triumph. A Story of our 

own Day. By Daryl Holme. 

iv. 

Christian Osborne’s Friends. By Mrs. Harriet Miller David- 

son, Author of ‘ Isobel Jardine’s History,’ and Daughter of the 
late Hugh Miller. 

v. 

Tales of Old English Life ; or, Pictures of the Periods. By 

William Francis Collier, LL.D., Author of ‘ History of English 
Literature,’ etc. 

VI. 

The Young Mountaineer; or, Frank Miller’s Lot in Life. 

The Story of a Swiss Boy. By Daryl Holme. 

vn. 

Mungo Park’s Life and Travels. With a Supplementary 

Chapter, detailing the results of recent Discovery in Africa. 

VIII. 

The Spanish Inquisition: Its Heroes and Martyrs. By 

Janet Gordon, Author of‘ Champions of the Reformation,’ etc. 

IX. 

Wisdom, Wit, and Allegory. Selected from 1 The Spectator.’ 

X. 

Benjamin Franklin: A Biography. 

XI. 

Wallace, the Hero of Scotland: A Biography. By James 

Paterson. 


91 













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N/MMO’S UNIVERSAL GIFT BOOKS — continued. 

XII. 

Epoch Men, and the Besults of their Lives. By Samuel IsTeil. 

m 

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xiv. 

Men of History. By Eminent Writers. 

XV. 

Old World Worthies; or, Classical Biography. Selected 

from Plutarch’s Lives. 

xvi. 

Women of History. By Eminent Writers. 

XVII. 

The World’s Way. Lays of Life and Labour. 

XVIII. 

The Improvement of the Mind. By Isaac Watts. 

XIX. 

The Man of Business considered in Six Aspects. A Book 

for Young Men. 

xx. 

Stories about Boys. By Ascott B. Hope, Author of ‘ Stories 

of School Life,’ ‘My Schoolboy Friends,’ etc. etc. 

XXI. 

Violet Bivers ; or, Loyal to Duty. A Tale for Girls. By 

Winifred Taylor, Author of ‘ Story of Two Lives,’ etc. 

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attractive in after life. _ 

Second Edition, crown 8vo, cloth extra, price 3s. 6d., 

FAMILY PRAYERS FOR FIVE WEEKS, 

With Prayers for Special Occasions, and a Table for Reading 
the Holy Scriptures throughout the Year. 

By WILLIAM WILSON, Minister of Kippen. 

‘ This is an excellent compendium of family prayers. It will be 
found invaluable to parents and heads of families. The prayers are 
short, well expressed, and the book, as a whole, does the author great 
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L 

Memorable Wars of Scotland. 

BY 

Patrick Fraser Tytler, F.R.S.E., 
Author of ‘History of Scotland,’ etc. 

n. 

Seeing the World: 

A Young Sailor’s own Story. 
By Charles Nordhoff. 
m. 

The Martyr Missionary: 

Five Years in China. 

By Rev. Charles P. Bush, M.A. 

iv. 

My New Home : 

A Woman’s Diary. 

v. 

Home Heroines : 

Tales for Girls. 

Bv T. S. Arthur, 

Author of ‘ Life’s Crosses.’ 


VI. 

Lessons from Women’s Lives. 

By Sarah J. Hale, 
vii. 

The Koseville Family. 

By Mrs. A. S. Orr. 

VIII. 

Leah. 

By Mrs. A. S. Orr. 
ix. 

Champions of the Keformation, 

X. 

The History of Two 
Wanderers. 

XI. 

Beattie’s Poetical Works. 

XII. 

The Vicar of Wakefield. 


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I. 

The Par North. 

n. 

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HI. 

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